River of Magic, Hermione's Song Book 2
by DWDuck
Summary: With the knowledge of who Voldemort really is, The Doctor and Hermione recruit old friends to help with the destruction of the Horcruxes.
1. Chapter 1

Title: River of Magic - Hermione's Song Book 2  
>Author: Patrick Mallard (DWDuck)<br>Pairings: The Doctor / Hermione, Jack / surprise

Setting: Set after the first half of series 6 of the new Doctor Who and during Hermione's sixth year at Hogwarts. This series deviates from the Whoverse after "A Good Man Goes to War" and does not follow the events set forth in Series 6.5.

Disclaimer: I own none of the rights to either Doctor Who or Harry Potter. I'm just thankful that they were created so the rest of us could enjoy these wonderful universes.

**River of Magic**

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy**

Harry Potter felt like the Universe had just rotated 90 degrees and nothing made sense any more. He stepped away from his friends to try to come to grips with everything he had experienced in the last hour. The first shock of the evening had come when Harry had watched Prof. Snape murder Prof. Dumbledore in the Astronomy Tower. Outraged, Harry had attempted to fight Snape, but the older man blocked all of his spells and knocked him to the ground several times, stunning him. Snape had run just prior to a blue police box materializing near the ruins of Hagrid's hut.

If possible, things had become even more disturbing and earth shattering after that. Voldemort had used some type of magical gems to project an image of himself so he could talk with the Doctor, an ancient alien who also happened to be the biological father of Harry's girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. Voldemort had commented on Ginny's eyes and that had sent the Doctor into shock. Harry had been totally unprepared for the Doctor to explain that Voldemort had once been a man who called himself the Valeyard. As it turned out, the Valeyard was a twisted, evil version of the Doctor from the future. Anger flared in the young wizard and he drew his wand. Pointing his wand at the Doctor, Harry screamed, "You killed my parents!"

Dorothy "Ace" McShane stepped between Harry and the Doctor who was nearly catatonic. "No, he didn't, Harry," she said slowly.

Harry motioned over to where Ace had been standing just a moment before. "You were there! You heard him and Voldemort talking! You heard the Doctor admit he was Voldemort!" he yelled.

Ace took in a deep breath before she spoke. "It doesn't work that way, Harry," she told him. "When the Professor and I last fought the Valeyard, the Professor was already rejecting what he represented, and he later managed to erase the Timeline that created the bastard anyway," she tried to explain. "In the end, the Valeyard's TARDIS collapsed from the strain of what he was trying to do and sent him into the void to save us from him. We thought we were finally done with him," she said sadly.

Prof. McGonagall shook her head, trying to understand what they were talking about. "What do you mean he erased a Timeline? How could he do that?" she inquired.

Ace looked down at the Doctor, her heart breaking to see him like that. "When he was my Doctor, he told me about what he had done… the steps he had been willing to take to make sure he never became the Valeyard," she said softly. "The Doctor was worried that the attitude of his sixth self would result in him setting in motion the events that would lead to the Valeyard's creation," she told them. "Instead of letting Time take its course, he made a deal with some higher power- long story; we'll get into that later- and allowed himself to be killed to try and stop those events from ever happening. In a way, he committed suicide," she whispered.

Prof. McGonagall looked over the rim of her glasses at Ace. "He wasn't very successful, he's here right now," she pointed out sarcastically.

Ginny waked over to Prof. McGonagall and took her hand. "My father and I aren't human. When we die, we regenerate into a new body with all of our memories, but with a different personality," she explained. Prof. McGonall closed her eyes as she tried to process this new bit of information. Ginny squeezed her hand and then let go. "We'll explain more later," she promised.

Ginny stepped away to stand next to Harry. "Do you remember what we talked about after I opened my pocket-watch?" she asked Harry. He nodded yes, refusing to speak. "Even though we only had a few short hours together, we formed a deep bond. I know in both of my hearts that my father loves me," she told him. "Do you know what they call my dad on the planet where I was born?" she asked rhetorically. Harry shook his head no, still glaring at the Doctor, his wand out – ready to kill. "They call him 'the Man Who Never Would'," she told him. "From what the people there told me, after Colonel Cobb shot me, Dad picked up his gun and had every opportunity and right to shoot the man who killed his daughter," she said softly. "My father was the last of our kind, alone in the whole of Time and Space until I came along, but Cobb took me away from him. Everyone thought Cobb deserved to die for what he had done, but my father refused to kill him. He thought that even that bastard's life was valuable," she explained. Harry let his eyes wander from the Doctor to Ginny. There was no doubt in his mind what he would have done if he had been in the same situation, holding Ginny's dead body.

Noticing Harry's eyes were losing their hardness, Ginny pressed on. "Harry, have you ever wondered about how you would have turned out if you had decided to become a Slytherin?" she inquired. Harry turned his whole head to look at her. She saw from his horror stricken expression that he had indeed thought about it. "Now imagine that person you could have been was given flesh and blood," she instructed him. The look of horror on his face intensified. "What would you do to stop him?" she asked simply.

Harry lowered his arm and pocketed his wand. "I would do everything I could to stop him," he replied softly, realizing that the Doctor felt the exact same way about Voldemort. Ginny wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and held him tight.

Hermione watched the byplay between Ginny and Harry and when she was sure she wouldn't have to block any of Harry's spells, she returned her attention to the Doctor. His eyes had a vacant look, staring at nothing. She took each of his hands in hers and held them in her lap. Thinking back to what she had learned about her older self, she decided to try something. "Sweetie… I need you," she whispered. She rocked back when his eyes regained focus and a golden shockwave emanated from him, speeding away in all directions.

The Doctor's squeezed Hermione's hands before standing up. "Thank you, Hermione," he told her before turning to look up at the sky. "Nice trick, Valeyard - shocking me like that to knock down my mental barriers so you could go rifling through my memories. If I still had my fez, I would tip my hat to you," he shouted and gave Hermione a brief dirty look that she didn't understand. She had no way of knowing that she would be the one to destroy the odd headpiece in her future. "I hope you enjoyed it, because it's the last time you'll ever be able to trick me like that," he spat. The Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver defiantly into the air. "One more thing – Brickyard, or Moldy Shorts, or whatever you're calling yourself now… as long as I still have life in me, I refuse to become you. You will never – ever be complete!" he vowed. A compressed blast of sonic energy shot out of the sonic screwdriver and knocked an usually large crow out of a tree above them. The crow squawked angrily and then flew off.

The Doctor looked around the small group, his manic energy back. "Right, we need to regroup," he stated.

Harry looked back up at the castle. "We need to do something with Prof. Dumbledore's body," he countered.

Prof. McGonagall placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "The House elves have already seen to it," she told him. "It seems as though our late Headmaster left some very explicit instructions in place if he should die at the school," she said.

The Doctor paused, sure he was missing something. When he couldn't put his finger on it, he clapped his hands once. "Right, since that is being taken care of, we should do as I recommended and regroup. I suggest we all head back to the Burrow," he told them.

Ron nodded his head in agreement. "Good call, mate," he acknowledged. "I think I might be able to calm down again with some of Mum's cooking," he said.

"Good, then it's decided," the Doctor proclaimed. "Everyone into the TARDIS," he ordered.

They all started to walk towards the TARDIS, but Prof. McGonagall stopped Harry by grabbing his arm. "I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, but you have to return to number 4 Privet Drive," she told him. She knew he was going to protest so she hurried to explain before he could say anything. "The wards placed on the house are still the best chance of protecting you until you turn 17," she reminded him.

Hermione, Ron, Luna, and Ginny rushed to Harry's side. They all tried to hug him at once to comfort him. "We'll come get you on your birthday so you won't have to spend another day there!" Ginny promised.

Ace stepped up to the group of teenagers and placed her hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'll help the Professor pilot the old girl to make sure we get there at right after midnight," she promised.

Harry set his shoulders and took in a deep breath. He knew it would was going to be hell going back to the Dursley's, but at least this time there was a definite light at the end of the tunnel. "Don't be late," he yelled to the Doctor. The Doctor responded with a dismissive wave of his hand.

**********DrW**********

**The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole**

Molly jumped when the family clock chimed the return of several family members. She looked up at the clock and saw the hands for Ron and Ginny had suddenly swung from "At School" to "Home". She was relieved to see that the hands meant for Hermione and the Doctor had stopped spinning madly and had settled on "Home" as well. "Arthur, the TARDIS is here," she called to her husband a moment before the rising / falling noises of the TARDIS arriving sounded in the garden. "I swear, if he ruined my vegetable patch again, I'm going to kill that man," she muttered under her breath.

Fred and George came tearing down the stairs, eager to see the Doctor again. They slowed down to a sedate walk when Molly glared at them. The twins let Molly be the first one to the back door. Lucky for the Doctor, he had managed to miss her vegetables this time around. The doors to the blue box opened and Ginny led a very flustered looking Prof. McGonagall out by the hand. Ron, Luna, and Ace were the next out. Molly was deeply disturbed when she saw the perpetual dreamy expression that Luna wore had been replaced with a tear streaked, shocked look. Ron had his arm around her shoulder, doing his best to comfort her. Hermione followed them and looked like she could do with a very strong cuppa. Molly put her arm around Hermione and led her to the kitchen.

Fred and George shouldered past their mother and raced out the back door and ran to the garden where the Doctor was finishing locking the doors to his TARDIS. When he saw the twins, he leaned to the side and looked at where the TARDIS had landed. "Sorry, boys, I seemed to have missed by a few feet," he apologized.

"That's ok..." Fred started to say.

"…You can try to smash the vegetables the next time you visit," George offered, finishing his twin's sentence. The twins each slapped the Doctor on the back and escorted him into their home.

Hermione waited until the Doctor was inside to tell the Weasley clan the bad news about what had happened at Hogwarts. She sat down on a couch and patted the spot next to her, inviting the Doctor to sit. He met her eyes and shook his head no. Instead of sitting, the Doctor began to pace with a manic energy only he could muster. Hermione sighed and took a long sip of her tea. When she felt she couldn't delay things anymore, Hermione put down her cup and cleared her throat. Everyone turned to look at her, except for the Doctor. He just continued to pace.

"Prof. Dumbledore is dead. Snape killed him," Hermione said bluntly.

The Doctor stopped pacing and turned to face Arthur and Molly. "And apparently Voldemort is an evil version of me from an alternate Timeline that I managed to erase quite some time ago," he added. Molly started to say something, but the Doctor held up his hand for her to be silent. "No time for questions now," he told her. "Prof. McGonagall can fill you in on the details later, but right now, I have to think," he explained. He went back to pacing but stopped after a few steps.

"I know that look, Professor," Ace stated. She found it comforting that even four lifetimes later, the Doctor still retained some of his old mannerisms. "That's your 'I've come up with something brilliant' look," she commented. The smile he gave her was contagious.

"Of course you recognize my brilliant look. It's the one I wear most of the time," the Doctor replied.

Hermione saw her boyfriend's smile and it did more to reassure her than all the tea in Great Britain. "All right, Doctor, what's your brilliant idea?" she asked him.

The Doctor smiled even more and pointed at Hermione. "I'm glad you asked. It always helps to have an attentive audience," he responded. He put his arm down and looked at all of the faces of the people assembled in the living room. "Now that we know what and who we are dealing with, I think it's high time to call in some back up," he proclaimed.

"Who…" George said.

"…are you going to get to help us?" Fred asked.

The Doctor crooked his finger and beckoned with it. "Why don't you two come along and find out?" he offered.

"Wicked!" the twins exclaimed in unison.

The Doctor pointed at Ace. "You told Harry you would help me fly 'the old girl' so why don't you show the twins around," he ordered and tossed her the TARDIS key.

Hermione stood up from the couch as Ace led Fred and George out the back door. "What about me?" she wondered.

The Doctor looked confused. "I need to travel to the past and the future. Knowing how the Universe operates, I'll probably get into trouble and have to deal with all sorts of danger while I'm there," he told her. "I just naturally assumed you would come along. You never could resist an evening of mayhem," he said with a smile.

Hermione thought about how her life had changed since she had first come to Hogwarts. She had started out as someone who clung to rules and schedules. Over the years she had matured and found herself enjoying the role of the first female Marauder. "You know me so well," she joked and started off towards the TARDIS.

The Doctor watched her go, his face suddenly serious. "Yes, yes I do," he whispered.

Molly stomped her foot as she strode into the center of the living room to stand in front of the Doctor. "You just got here!" she reminded him.

The look the Doctor gave her reminded her very much of the twins. "And now I'm leaving again. It's something you're going to have to get used to now that I'm an honorary member of your family," he told her. He snapped his fingers as he remembered something. "When is Harry's birthday?" he inquired.

Molly was stunned by the sudden change of subject. "Ah… it's July 31st. Why?" she replied.

The Doctor was already out the back door as she spoke. "We'll be back on July 31st then," he promised.

Hermione watched with a smile as the twins tried to take in everything about the control room at once. She found herself running interference as they tried touching various controls. Ace had already slapped George's hand once and Fred's twice. The Doctor ran up the catwalk and started to adjust the controls. Without looking up he pointed at George who was about to flip a particularly interesting looking switch. "Don't touch anything, George!" he commanded.

George smirked and decided to pull the old gag he hand brother had perfected. "I'm Fred, Doctor, he's George,' he said, pointing to his twin.

The Doctor spared a look at George. "No, you're George and that's Fred… who will end up staying here if he touches that bell," he warned.

Fred pulled his hand back from the shiny bell. "Not even our own mother can tell us apart," he stated. "You've only met us twice. How do you manage it?" he wondered.

The Doctor looked from Fred to George and back again. "You have different Timelines, of course," he said as if that explained everything. He dashed around the six control panels making adjustments. When he was satisfied he had things the way he wanted, he threw the lever that sent the TARDIS into the vortex. As the TARDIS dematerialized everyone in the control room was thrown off balance as it tilted to the side. The Doctor clung to a handrail he had attached under the life support panel for just such an occasion. "Sorry… Sorry, that happens sometimes. Nothing to worry about," he apologized and spun a green knob that looked like a faucet handle.

**********DrW**********

**London, 1884**

Lady Vastra let a small, white mouse run from one of her green scaled hands to the other. She waited until her maid / lover was looking the other way before her tongue shot out, striking the mouse, paralyzing it with her venom. She could have eaten the mouse without paralyzing it, but she had always thought the venom added a nice flavor to the meat. She picked up the mouse by the tail and dropped it in her mouth, swallowing it whole. When she had finished swallowing, she called out to the other woman. "That's the last one, dear, you can look now," she stated warmly. Jenny turned to face her reptilian lover and managed a weak smile. "I will never figure out why you have no problem chopping a man into little bits and yet the sight of me eating makes you squeamish," Vastra sighed.

Jenny chuckled despite herself. "Mice are cute, men… not so much so," she replied. Jenny went back to dusting and her smile vanished.

Vastra stood from her overstuffed chair and put a gentle hand on Jenny's shoulder. "What's wrong, my love? Have I gone and said something insensitive again?" she inquired. From the onset of their love affair, Vastra had warned Jenny that at times her prejudices as a Silurian might pop up and have her say or do something that might offend her warm blooded lover.

Jenny reached up and covered Vastra's hand with her own. "No… no, nothing like that," she assured her. "I'm just wondering if the Doctor ever managed to find the Pond girl," she explained.

Vastra was about to say something about the Doctor never giving up when the door to their study opened suddenly. The Doctor poked his head into the room. "Yes, I did. Thank you for caring about her," he said to Jenny.

Vastra let her arm go back to her side. "That's wonderful, Doctor," she told him. "I take it things aren't going as smoothly as you would like?" she inquired.

"What makes you say that?" the Doctor asked.

Jenny looked at Vastra and then at the Doctor, her mood lightening tremendously. "When you stop by, it's rarely for tea, Doctor," she pointed out.

"Riiight… sorry about that" the Doctor responded, running his hand through his hair. The doorbell rang, surprising the Doctor. He looked at the clock on the mantel and saw it was very late. "Who could that be at this hour?" he wondered aloud.

Vastra let out a weary sigh and Jenny rolled her eyes. "I'll go let _him_ in," she told her employer. Vastra nodded once and took up a formal posture next to the fireplace. She motioned for the Doctor to stand with her. He agreed and walked across the room to stand next to her.

Jenny opened the door to the hall and a lean, ferret-like man in a dark brown suit walked into the study. "Inspector LeStrade, Scotland Yard to see you, Lady Vastra," Jenny announced.

LeStrade looked from Vastra to the Doctor, not sure what to say. Vastra nodded her head towards the Doctor. "I trust this man with not only my life, but Jenny's as well," she told him. "Anything you wish to say to me you can say in front of him," she assured the inspector.

LeStrade winced at the mere mention of Vastra's lesbian relationship. "There has been a strange string of murders that I need your help with," he started to explain.

The Doctor walked across the room to a simple oak desk in the corner. "Sorry, Inspector, but the Lady Vastra will be busy for a while and won't be able to help you," he said, interrupting LeStrade. The Doctor found a pen and dipped it in the ink well sitting on the corner of the desk. He jotted down an address and blew on the paper to dry the ink. Once he was certain it was dry, he folded the paper and handed it to LeStrade. "Go speak with the man at this location. I'm sure he will be able to help you," the Doctor assured him. "Tell him 'the Doctor' sent you," he suggested.

LeStrade looked blankly at the paper in his hand while Jenny ushered him out the room. He had never been dismissed like that since he had been promoted. He unfolded the paper and read the address. "Baker Street?" he muttered while hailing a cab.

Back in the study, Vastra was still laughing at the look on LeStrade's face when he left. "Weren't you being a bit presumptuous?" she asked the Doctor.

The Doctor met Vastra's eyes and she reveled in the fierce energy she saw there. "I'm fighting an evil version of myself bent on taking over the world," he told her simply.

Vastra looked over at Jenny who had returned from showing LeStrade out. "Pack our things again, and make sure you bring an extra set of swords," she instructed her maid.


	2. Chapter 2

**Space Dock orbiting Meta Sigma Polia**

The glass shapes inside the Time Rotor stilled, indicating the TARDIS had arrived at its destination. Ace was standing across from the Doctor taking readings to see where they were. With her help, the Doctor had managed to hit his desired location within six months. "Not bad, Professor," Ace muttered as she swung the scanner back into position.

The Doctor grabbed his tweed jacket off the railing and put it back on. Walking down the catwalk, he called out over his shoulder. "Hermione… Ace, you coming?" he asked. Hermione looked at Ace who just winked.

"What about us?" the twins asked in unison. They started to walk towards the door as well.

The Doctor held up his hand to stop them. "We are in a space station 200,000 kilometers above the planet surface. The only thing between the occupants of this station and the cold, life ending emptiness of space is a small bit of technology and some thin metal," he lectured. "It's not that I don't trust you boys, but I don't think the station will react well to any of the products from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," he added. The Doctor turned his attention to Lady Vastra. "If they try to leave, you have my permission to tongue them," he stated.

The twins smirked as his choice of words until the Doctor pulled a banana out of his larger–on-the-inside pocket and threw it in the air. Vastra's tongue shot out over six feet and sliced the banana in half before it had a chance to fall to the ground.

"We'll be…" George started to say.

"…looking around the TARDIS if you need us," Fred finished with a gulp.

Once they were outside of the TARDIS, the Doctor motioned for Hermione to go to one of the viewing ports on the far wall. She walked up to the "glass" slowly, transfixed by what she saw below her. The space station was orbiting a planet twice the size of Earth. Some freak combination of atmospheric pressure and chemical compounds in the air caused the sky below them to look like oil swirling around on the top of still water. She watched the rainbow currents silently for a few moments, taking everything in. Eventually she realized the Doctor had joined her and put his arm around her waist. She looked up into his eyes. "Thank you, Doctor," she whispered. In heart, she knew that after this first taste of what lay beyond Earth, she would never be satisfied with remaining on just one planet. Lucky for her, her boyfriend spent his life traveling through Space and Time.

Hermione let her gaze drift to a spaceship docked below and to the right of them. She couldn't tell its size because she had nothing to compare it with for scale, but her instincts told her it was huge. The side facing her was painted in white and gold and she could make out what she thought were windows all along the hull. A series of whistles sounded over the intercom, startling her. "What's that about?" she wondered aloud.

The Doctor pointed down to the ship. "That's a brand new ship down there waiting for its maiden voyage," he told her. "The whistles are a traditional way of informing her captain that she is ready for his first time onboard," he explained. He grinned as he thought about his timing. "Looks like we got here just in time," he said in his typical hyper fashion.

The Doctor went over to a black glass panel set in the nearest wall. The wall itself was painted a dark green. The Doctor was sure the color scheme signified something to those living on the station, but he never kept track of fads that didn't last for more than 200 years. He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the interface panel and manipulated its programming, bringing up a schematic of the station. He traced a path on the screen with his finger, determining the quickest way to get to the living quarters. He chose a path that would intersect with the loading tube to the ship below them. "Right, this way then," he said suddenly and made his way down the gray colored passage that led into the main hub of the station.

When they reached the loading tube that led to the ship, a different series of whistles came from the intercom. The Doctor motioned for Ace and Hermione to stop. "That was the signal to announce the captain would be arriving shortly," he relayed to them. He straightened his bow tie and turned to face the end of the tube opposite of the ship. Within moments, a baby faced man with blond hair in a dark blue naval uniform walked towards them. The brand new captain's bars sparkled on his shoulders. Once he reached them, the Doctor stepped out and offered to shake the rookie captain's hand. The captain obliged with a smile. "Congratulations, Captain Frame," the Doctor said warmly.

Captain Alonso Frame cocked his head to the side as he sensed there was something familiar about this man, even though he didn't recall ever meeting him before. "Thank you," he replied. "I'm sorry, have we met?" he inquired politely.

The Doctor smiled cryptically at him. "Yes, but it was a lifetime ago," he replied and stepped back to give the captain room to pass by. Captain Frame nodded in thanks and made his way down the rest of the tube. The Doctor waited until he entered the lift that would take him to the ship. Frame looked down at the floor, trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach. Right as the lift doors started to close, the Doctor called out, "Allons-y Alonso!" The captain's head shot up when he remembered who had said those words to him years ago. He started to walk forwards, but the doors to the lift closed, taking him to his first command.

"Friend of yours?" Ace chuckled.

The Doctor stared at the doors for a moment longer before speaking. "Yes he was. We kept the Titanic from crashing into Buckingham Palace together," he replied.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Doctor. Everyone knows the Titanic crashed into an iceberg," she said before thinking about it.

"Yes, one of them did, but the second one was almost a much bigger disaster. It's why I retired that particular tuxedo," he replied. Even Ace had a hard time following that train of thought. On their way to the living quarters, the Doctor told them an edited version of his adventure on the Titanic 2 and why he had begun to think his old tuxedo was bad luck since he had worn it on both Titanics. The only thing he left out of his story was the bit about his snog with Astrid Perth.

The Doctor finished his story before they entered the living quarters. The walls in this part of the station were painted a calming, neutral beige. Trusting his instincts, the Doctor led them through several twists and turns until they arrived at a room with an open door. Hermione looked in and saw a tall, well-built man with dark hair standing next to the bed. His back was turned to them as he tossed a pile of blue dress shirts into a bag. He was wearing a similar shirt tucked into a pair of dark slacks. Brown suspenders held up his pants. When he was finished packing, the man put on a blue, vintage WWII era overcoat.

"You can leave all of that stuff here, you won't be needing it," the Doctor told the man, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. The man kept his back turned to them, but Hermione saw him slowly slide his hand to his waist where she guessed he had a weapon stashed. She started to draw her wand, but the Doctor stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. "Well, everything except the coat… I know how you love that coat," he added.

The man slowly turned around, scared to hope that the strange voice behind him belonged to who he thought it did. When he was finished turning, Ace shook her head. She should have known there was only one person in all of Time and Space who looked that good in an overcoat.

Jack looked first at Ace and winked at his old co-worker. He then looked at Hermione, his brow creasing slightly. She looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place her. Finally, he looked at the "young" man with brown hair cut so that it fell in his eyes. He was wearing a tan tweed jacket, cream colored shirt, brown suspenders, and a bow tie. Jack smiled his million watt smile at the odd mix of clothing on the man. "Let's see -anachronistic clothes and beautiful companions… there's only one man who can pull something like that off. Well… other than me I mean," he pronounced. Without warning, Jack rushed forward, put a hand on either side of the Doctor's face, and kissed him soundly. "Doctor!" Jack exclaimed.

Hermione's jaw dropped. She had no idea what to think about this handsome man kissing her boyfriend. Not knowing what else to do, she cleared her throat. Jack stepped back and smiled at her.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me. Would you like one too?" he offered. Hermione's cold glare was the only reply he got.

"Jaaaack!" the Doctor warned. He had no real hopes Jack would lay off, but he tried anyway. As far as the Doctor knew, there were only two constants in the Universe. The first one was Jack himself, which was still unnerving. The second was Jack's desire to flirt with anything that moved and some things that didn't.

"What? I was just saying hello," Jack joked, repeating part of their little greeting ritual. He held out his hand to Hermione. "Captain Jack Harkness," he said, introducing himself.

Hermione smiled back despite herself. She shook his hand and responded, "Hermione Granger."

"Hello, Jack," Ace said. "And no, I don't want a kiss either," she added hastily. He chuckled and pulled her in for a hug instead.

The Doctor pivoted on his heel and started walking back to the TARDIS. "Come along, Jack. We have work to do," he stated quickly. Hermione hurried over to catch up with the Doctor, leaving the two "Black CATs" to bring up the rear.

While they were walking, Jack nodded his head towards Hermione. "New girl, huh?" he asked.

Ace leaned over and whispered, "Girlfriend actually."

Jack stopped dead in his tracks. "Now, I am embarrassed," he stated. "I thought that was _the_ Doctor," he added, not able to see the Doctor in a romantic relationship. He knew all about his friend's secret love for Rose, but the Doctor had been too scared to act on it. Ace punched him in the arm, hard. "Ouch!" Jack complained.

"It's him, trust me," Ace said sharply. "And _yes_, she really is his girlfriend. They've even shared a snog or two," she told him. Her words where confirmed when Hermione slid her hand into the Doctor's as they walked along in silence.

"I can't believe it," Jack muttered. He pointed to the Doctor's back as he and Ace continued walking. "What number are we up to?" he inquired.

Ace chuckled again as she thought that only a longtime companion or friend of the Doctor would understand that question. "Number 11, or so he says," she replied.

When Jack had first met the Doctor during his 9th life, the Doctor looked like a man in his early forties. When they met again, the 10th version looked like a man in his mid-thirties. Number 11 looked to be somewhere in his late twenties. "At this rate, his next regeneration will be a teenager," he commented.

Ace thought about it and realized from the pictures she had seen of the 8th Doctor, he had been getting steadily younger since _her_ Doctor - his 7th life. "And I thought he was hyper now. I can't even begin to imagine him as a teen," she joked. Their shared laughter was cut short when the station rocked violently. "What the bloody hell was that?" Ace demanded.

The four Time travelers pressed their face against a "window" and looked out into space. Two spaceships had suddenly appeared in orbit near the station. They looked like long, silver cylinders with two giant wheels spinning around the cylinder in different directions. Even from far away, The Doctor and his Companions were able to see the scorching and missing segments that spoke of some kind of disaster. One of the ships had a steady stream of ice particles jetting from one side, a sure sign they had a breach to their life support systems. They could also see the ridiculous amount of large guns spread out over the entire surface of both ships.

The Doctor pressed his nose against the glass and let out a low whistle. "That's not good," he muttered. As he spoke, a second low powered volley of charged plasma lanced out from the fore guns on the lead ship and rocked the station again.

"Doctor, those look like…" Jack started to say.

"Cybermen ships," the Doctor finished, interrupting Jack. "Those are what remain of the 12th Cyber Legion," he told no one in particular. "My guess is since they haven't hulled this station yet, they're here for _spare parts,_" he said a bit squeamishly. The Doctor took Hermione's hand and started to jog back to the TARDIS. "It would be best for this station if the Cybermen not find me here," he stated.

Ace and Jack hurried to catch up with the Doctor. "Apart from the fact that you're really not well liked among Cybermen, is there any special reason this Cyber Legion wants to kill you?" Ace asked.

The Doctor hesitated before answering. "Um… I was sort of responsible for the destruction of the rest of their Legion," he admitted.

"Why did you do that?" Jack asked. He was no fan of the Cybermen, but he couldn't see his pacifist friend destroying an entire Cyber Legion.

The Doctor stopped at an intersection to get his bearings. "I wanted to get a message across to them and emailing them with the CAPLOCKS on wasn't getting the result I wanted," he explained before heading off down a different passage.

Jack stared at the newest version of his old friend. It was so unlike the Doctor, he began to wonder if it really was him, despite what Ace said. "What was so important that you had to blow them up to make a point?" he pressed.

The Doctor stopped again and reached up to gently stroke Hermione's bushy hair. "The 12th Cyber Legion knew where the people who kidnapped one of my Companions were hiding. The woman they kidnapped is Hermione's mother," he explained.

_Now that's the Doctor I know,_ Jack thought, relaxing immensely. When they got to the TARDIS, Jack stopped the Doctor by putting his hand on the other man's shoulder. "Those Cyber ships are going to try and convert everyone aboard this station, including those on Alonso's ship," he pointed out.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Yes, but if they find out I'm here, they'll just end up destroying both the station and the ship," he countered.

"So what's the plan?" Ace asked.

"We're going to hop over to their command ship and politely ask them to surrender," the Doctor told them, sounding like he was suggesting nothing more complicated than asking noisy neighbors to keep it down.

Hermione looked into the Doctor's eyes. "And what if they refuse?" she inquired, wanting to know the rest of the plan.

The Doctor's eyes grew colder than the Void itself. "If that happens, I suppose we'll just have to repeat the message I gave them before," he said softly.

The Doors to the TARDIS opened and the Doctor ran to the control console to start the process of a jump over to the Cyber command ship. Ace followed and started to give him a hand. Hermione stood by Jack who took a long look around the new control room. "I like the new décor," he muttered. Jack gestured to the room and said, "It used to be smaller, and had a lot of organic looking pillars ringing the control console."

Motion from the hallway that led to the wardrobe drew Jack's attention. The twins had been rummaging around the huge, warehouse sized closet and found two identical, reddish brown suits. They had chosen light brown dress shirts and red ties to finish off the look. Jack drank in the sight of the twins like a man dying of thirst who suddenly found a crystal clear spring. The twins had no idea that Jack had a thing for guys in suits. Jack forced his eyes away and looked up at the Doctor. "Thank you, Doctor," he said. "Ginger twins… and it isn't even my birthday!" he exclaimed joyfully, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.


	3. Chapter 3

**12th Cyber Legion Command Ship**

The rising and falling noises of the TARDIS landing echoed in the nearly empty cargo bay of the damaged command ship. The unique properties of the old blue box (being a construct that existed outside of Time and Space) made it invisible to the Cybermen's internal scanners. Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was looking at the scanners, scratching his head thoughtfully. "That's odd," he muttered.

Hermione had been standing behind him, watching and making mental notes on how to fly the magnificent Time machine. "What's odd, Doctor?" she inquired.

"We seem to have landed in the midsection cargo bay," the Doctor replied, still looking a little puzzled.

"Again Doctor, what's odd about that?" Hermione repeated.

The Doctor turned to face his girlfriend, a slightly embarrassed grin on his face. "We're right where I wanted us to go," he answered.

Ace, who had traveled with a different version of the Doctor for years, started to snicker. "You're right, Professor, that is pretty odd," she chuckled. "But I suppose the law of averages would have you make a landing dead on eventually," she pointed out. The Doctor scowled at her. "You know, like the saying about putting a thousand monkeys on a thousand typewriters for a thousand years and one of them managing to write a Shakespearean sonnet," she joked.

The Doctor held up a finger, gesturing that he wanted to correct her. "Actually, I tried that experiment one time," he told Ace. "Of course I had to use 3,000 monkeys because I could only work them in 8 hour shifts due to the Titan Simian labor regulations," he went on saying. "The really tricky part was developing a modified life support system that would keep the monkeys alive for a thousand years," he added.

Hermione shook her head in wonder. She was still trying to come to terms with how her boyfriend thought. Curiosity got the better of her and she had to ask, "So what happened? Did any of them manage to write a Shakespearean sonnet?"

"Not a single one," the Doctor replied. "Which isn't surprising considering how brilliant Bill's works are," he said. He started to walk down the catwalk but paused midway down. "There was one odd thing that I discovered with this experiment. Over half of the monkeys managed to write a complete political speech that was identical to the ones Sarah Palin gave," he mused.

"Who?" George and Fred asked in unison.

Jack frowned and shook his head in disgust. "She was a politician in the early 21st century who almost started World War III - twice - due to her complete lack of anything even resembling a firm grasp on reality," he spat. "The only thing that saved the Earth was the release of her private diary that showed the world how completely deranged she was," he added. Jack's face became thoughtful for a moment. "Palin always denied writing it, but several experts agreed the syntax and misspellings were totally unique to her," he stated. "You wouldn't happen to know how the diary got leaked would you, Doctor?" he asked suspiciously.

"Like I said, the monkeys really were good at forging her work," the Doctor responded. This set Jack off on a laughing fit.

Lady Vastra sighed deeply and then tapped the flat side of one of her special titanium ore swords on the railing to the catwalk. It was a sword that never needed sharpening due to a bonding process which left the edge only one molecule wide. "As humorous as human political theories can be, we do have a mission to accomplish here," she reminded everyone.

The Doctor acknowledged Vastra with a nod of his head. "Right... sorry about that," he stated before spinning around in a circle, pointing at different people with both hands. "Hermione, Vastra, Jenny... you three are coming with me to the bridge," he told them. "I want to give the Cybermen a chance to surrender before I unleash the other team - Jack, Ace, and the twins - on the unsuspecting, clanking madmen," he explained. "Jack, you'll lead your team," he added.

Jack motioned with his hand for Ace, George, and Fred to come over to him. When they got there, he gave each of them a long, steady look. The twins couldn't shake the feeling that not only was Jack trying to get a measure of them, but he was also undressing them with his eyes. "All right, I've worked with Ace before, so I know her strengths and weaknesses. What can you two handsome, young men bring to the table?" he asked.

"We're wizards," the twins replied.

Jack looked over to Ace to see if the ginger young men were joking or not. "It's true, Jack. They're really can do magic. Their parents were part of the Order of the Phoenix during the same time I was," she vouched for them.

Jack's eyes lit up. _Cute, well dressed, and magically talented - this is going to be more fun than I had hoped,_ he thought. "Wizards huh? Well, I can't wait to see how you two handle your wands," he told them, managing to keep a straight face. Fred wasn't sure, but he thought he caught Jack's eyes darting down for just a split second when he said that. Jack looked over his shoulder at the Doctor. "How will we know when to start wrecking things?" he inquired.

Hermione dug her Order coin out of her pocket and showed it to Jack. "Both Fred and George have one just like this. It allows us to communicate over long distances without having to worry about anything physical blocking the transmission," she explained.

Jack made a satisfied face when the twins each held out their own coin. "Works for me," he agreed. "Don't be too long, Doctor. Alonso and the rest of the people over at the station don't have much time," he reminded the Doctor. Jack motioned for his team to step back so the Doctor, Hermione, Vastra and Jenny could walk past them. The sight of Vastra and Jenny wearing Victorian dresses and carrying long swords turned him on almost as much as the twins did in their suits.

The Doctor led his team out of the TARDIS and over to a lift on the far side of the cargo bay. After a quick reprogramming of the lift's computer with his sonic screwdriver, they were on their way to the bridge. The lift sped up and then sideways through the tubes that lined the interior of the ship and brought them to their desired location in less than a minute.

The Cyber Leader of the 12st Legion stood at the head of a holographic display table. The clear plas-steal on his helmet clearly displayed his brain, marking him as one of the few Cybermen who had been left with imagination. This was done so the leaders of the vast Legions could come up with creative ways to solve problems. A lesson taught to them by their numerous defeats at the hands of one particular Time Lord. Looking at the display, the Cyber Leader didn't think he would need that creativity for this mission. All they were doing was attacking a lightly defended civilian station and restocking the body parts they needed for repairs and to create new Cybermen.

When they had come out of hyperspace, he had been pleasantly surprised to see a Monarch class cruiser docked at the station. The ship would make a fine addition to his fleet once some modifications were done to the hull. The Cyber Leader's thoughts were interrupted when one of his Cyber Lieutenants came clanking over.

"Cyber Leader, internal scanners have picked up the sudden addition of eight additional life forms on our ship," the Cyber Lieutenant relayed, his metallic voice devoid of any humanity.

"What type of mat-trans energy signature was left?" the Leader inquired.

The Lieutenant paused while he reviewed the data again on his wireless link with the mainframe. "No mat-trans energy detected, Cyber Leader," he told him.

The Cyber Leader's head snapped up from the holo-table. The same thing had happened when he had lost nearly his entire Legion, and that time, there had only been one intruder. "Alert all decks to delete the intruders!" he commanded. "Seal the bridge! We must not let the Doctor or his Companions make it here!" he ordered.

While the Cyber Leader had been speaking, the doors to the lift opened, allowing the occupants to hear his orders. "That really won't be necessary seeing as how we're already here," the Doctor said smugly. He and Hermione stepped out of the lift together. A Cyberman on either side of them stepped forward from the wall with a loud clank-clank of their metallic feet. As one, they lowered their pulse rifles at the most dangerous being in the Universe.

Vastra and Jenny spun out of the lift and quickly swung their mono-molecular edged blades in perfect unison. The Cybermen standing sentry duty looked down as the front half of their rifles slid to the floor. Now unarmed, they step backed to the wall with another stomping clank-clank.

The Doctor looked from side to side at the broken rifles. He was pleased that Vastra had agreed to reign in her blood thirsty nature until they no longer had a choice. He looked at the Cyber Leader, pity in his eyes. For a brief moment, he thought about the person who had been forcefully converted into the metal man before him. What did this person do for a living before having most of his humanity ripped and cut from him? Did he have a wife and children, or was he a confirmed bachelor, the Doctor wondered. The thought of what had been stolen from not only this one person but every Cyberman made the Doctor furious.

"I'm here to give you a choice, Cyber Leader," the Doctor proclaimed, barely holding his tone in check. "The first option is for you to stop this attack immediately and take your ships to an uninhabited system to live out the remainder of your lives in peace," he offered.

"What is the second choice, Doctor?" the Cyber Leader requested.

The Doctor took one step forward, focusing his rage on the Cyber Leader. "I repeat the message I gave you when the Last Centurion was here," he said softly.

The Cyber Leader surprised the Doctor by taking a moment to think things over. The Doctor had been expecting an instant refusal. The pause gave the Doctor hope that perhaps they wouldn't have to destroy what was left of the 12th Cyber Legion after all. His new found hope was dashed when the Cyber Leader raised his hand and pointed it at the Doctor.

"Delete the Doctor and his Companions at all costs!" the Cyber Leader ordered.

As soon as the Cyber Leader spoke, Hermione had her wand out. She pointed her wand at one of the Cyber Lieutenant, gave it the proper swish and flick, and shouted, "**_Wingardium Leviosa!_**" The Lieutenant rose into the air and then slammed into the Cybermen standing at the table, knocking them over.

The Cybermen sentries stepped out from the wall again, their arms out stretched, ready to grab the intruders and rip them apart. Vastra pulled out her second sword and started spinning them around her body. She stepped into the Cyberman's reach and started slicing off segments of his arms as he stepped closer. The metal slices clanged on the floor as piece after piece fell. Eventually, the Cyberman was left with only small stumps jutting out from his shoulders. When he continued to advance, Vastra dropped into a crouch, her rear leg extended. She swung her deadly swords with precision and took the Cyberman's legs off midway between his hips and knees. The now useless sentry fell to the floor on his back, unable to right himself.

Jenny had chosen a more direct route and simply shoved her sword through the raised circle in the center of the sentry's chest. Sparks flew out both the front and rear of the Cyberman as her sword pierced his armor. Jenny kicked the remains of the mechanical monster off of her sword and the metal structure crashed to the floor.

The Doctor looked sternly at the Cyber Leader who was busy trying to disentangle himself from the other Cybermen. "Remember, I gave you a choice," he told him. The Doctor spun around and stormed back into the lift. When Hermione, Vastra, and Jenny were safely inside, he pointed his sonic screwdriver at the controls and sent them streaking back to the cargo bay.

Hermione couldn't remember ever seeing the Doctor look so cross. She brushed his cheek with her hand. "You gave them a choice, one that they weren't going to give the people on that station," she reminded him.

The Doctor took her hand in his for a moment and then let it drop. "I know, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm going to send the remainder of the 12th Cyber Legion into oblivion," he countered. Gesturing at her pocket, he told Hermione, "Tell Jack it's his turn."

At the other end of the ship, Jack, Ace, Fred, and George waited patiently (or least as close as they could get to being patient in the twins' cases) for Hermione to signal them. They were all ducked down behind some crates in a corridor that led to the engine room. The twins felt their Order coins vibrate in their pockets. Fred had his out first and looked down at a small, 3D image of Hermione in his coin. "The Doctor says your team is up," she relayed to them. "Be careful. Your mom will kill us if you guys get hurt," she added before shutting down her side of the magical link.

Heavy footsteps sounded from down the hall as a troop of eight Cybermen took up a position blocking entry to the engines. Jack smiled at the twins as he said, "Showtime!" The twins both recognized the love of mischief that flashed in Jack's eyes and smiled back.

George quickly peeked his head around the crate to get a look at what they were dealing with. He ducked back behind cover before the metal men could see him. "Eight of them, wearing metal armor, and they don't strike me as being very quick," he told his brother.

Fred thought for a moment and then smiled. "I know - S.S.S.," he said happily.

Ace frowned since she had no idea what the twins were talking about. "S.S.S.?" she repeated.

Fred gave her a brilliant smile as he and George took out small packages wrapped in tissue paper with a bow on top. The packages fit neatly in the palm of their hands. "Super Slick Slime," he explained. George winked at him and they both tore off the top of the wrapping paper with their teeth and threw the packages down the hall towards the Cybermen.

The packages landed a few feet in front of the Cybermen guarding the engine room. As soon as they hit the floor, a shiny brown substance flowed out from them. The brown slime grew to cover the floor from wall to wall and from the engine room doors to about four meters in front of the twins. The sudden attack from down the corridor stirred the Cybermen into action. Unfortunately for them, as soon as they raised a foot, the slime poured into the blank spot left by their metallic boots. When they put that foot back down, they encountered the slime and found they had absolutely no traction. Within one step, all eight of the Cybermen found themselves suddenly facing either the floor or the ceiling, depending on how they fell. A few of them had accidentally triggered their pulse rifles on the way down and shot hole in the walls, causing a massive amount of sparks.

"That's really cool looking, but we still need to get past them to get at the engines," Jack pointed out.

Fred and George stood up and pointed their wands at the pile of flailing Cybermen. "Not really a..." Fred started to say.

"...a problem for two capable wizards like ourselves," George finished. He lowered his wand slightly, pointing it into the pile. "**_Diffindo_**!" he shouted. Ace had to cover her ears as the sound of metal tearing itself apart reverberated through the corridor. She watched as a huge tear appeared in the floor below the Cybermen, causing them and most of the S.S.S. to drop to the deck below them.

Fred winked at her and pointed his wand at the tear his brother had caused. "**_Finite Incantatem_**," he said casually. The rent in the floor flowed back together as he canceled out his twin's spell. The twins turned to face each other and gave the other a high five.

Jack stood up and smiled at the young men. "OK... I'm impressed," he told them, patting them on the backs. Jack led his team to the doors that separated them from the engines. He popped a panel next to the door and used his Vortex Manipulator to override the locking program. The doors flew open and the strike team casually walked inside.

The doors opened up onto a small viewing platform over the immense engine room that ran the length of the ship. Huge cylinders of glowing blue plasma lined each side. Blue arcs of energy lanced out from the cylinders to strike energy turbines spaced evenly along the floor and ceiling. "Wicked!" the twins exclaimed.

Jack came up behind them and put a hand on each boy's shoulder. "No... wicked is reserved for later. Preferably with some whipped cream," he corrected. The twins turned to face each other, not quite believing they had heard Jack correctly. "Ace, any ideas as how to take these engines down?" he inquired.

George and Fred put their hands on Ace and Jack's shoulders, gently pushing them back. "We've got this," they said in unison. The twins pointed their wands at the closest cylinder of churning plasma. "_**Fiendfyre**_!" they incanted. Twin streams of red energy shot from their wands and intertwined before striking the plasma containment vessel.

At first, it seemed as if their spell failed, but soon the plasma inside the cylinder changed from a glowing blue to an angry red. The containment vessel shattered violently, rocking the ship. The explosion sent fragments over the travelers' heads, causing them to duck. When they straightened up, they were able to see a large, two headed dragon made up red, roiling plasma prowling around the floor of the engine room.

Fred and George spared one look at each other before pushing Jack and Ace out the door, their heads turned so they could keep an eye on the dragon they had created. "Now would be a..." George started to say.

"...great time to be leaving," Fred finished. "RUN!" he shouted as the plasma fiend caught sight of them.

As soon as they were through the doorway, Ace and Fred jumped to the right with George and Jack leaping to the left. A blast of plasma fire followed through the door and would have incinerated them if they hadn't gotten out of the way soon enough. Jack reached up and slammed his hand down on the door panel, sealing off the engine room. Once the door was shut, they felt the ship shake again, indicating the fire fiend had destroyed another containment vessel. He started to laugh and helped George up off the floor. "You two don't do things half way, do you?" he chuckled.

"Only our schoolwork," the twins answered.

"My kind of guys," Jack replied. "I'm liking you guys more and more every minute," he told them. The twins smirked at each other.

"Come on, let's get back to the TARDIS," Ace suggested.

Inside the cargo bay, a lone Cyberman hid behind a crate as he waited for a chance to attack. It heard the lift arrive and shortly after that the hatch to the stairs opened. The Cyberman was trying to decide which of the intruders to shoot first. Its mind was made up when it overheard the two groups of spare parts talking.

Jack looked across the bay at the open lift. "What took you guys so long?" he called out to the Doctor.

"I had to reroute power to the lift after the ship started lurching like Mickey after you goosed him," the Doctor shouted back.

Fred raised his hand before speaking. "Yeah... sorry, that was our fault. We sort of over did things," he explained, his expression anything but contrite. The waiting Cyberman stood up and took a step away from the crate it was hiding behind. The one who had raised his hand was taking credit for the explosions rocking the ship and therefore must be the most dangerous foe. It leveled its pulse rifle at him and squeezed off a shot.

Jack had sensed movement out of the corner of his eye. He grabbed Fred and spun him around so that Jack was standing between the young man and the lone mechanical warrior. The energy pulse struck Jack square in the back, killing him instantly. Jack's lifeless body fell into Fred's arms.

George watched as his twin was almost murdered. He swung his wand to point at the Cyberman and shouted "**_CONFRINGO!_** with all of the rage and fear he could muster feeding his spell. The Cyberman was picked up off the ground and slammed into the wall behind it with such force that his metal armor crushed like an empty soda can.

Ace helped ease Jack's body to the ground. Fred was looking shell shocked. Jack had only known them for less than an hour and he had been willing to die for him. A tear ran down his face as he straightened Jack's coat.

The Doctor walked past looking more annoyed than sad at seeing his friend's death. He barely paused as he looked down at Jack. "Someone pick up Jack and bring him back to the TARDIs," he sighed. The ship rocked back and forth, more violently this time. "Quickly," he added.

Vastra knelt down to pick up Jack's body, but Fred shook his head no. He and George managed to get an arm over their shoulders and they walked back to the TARDIS, supporting Jack between them. Inside the TARDIS, they eased Jack's body to the floor.

The Doctor busied himself with programming the TARDIS for a small spatial hop. He ran around the console, flipping switches, and turning knobs. Hermione was worried that he was suppressing his emotions. He had rarely spoken about Jack, but when he did, there was an unmistakable tone of affection. Hermione stepped up to the Doctor and silently took his hand once he threw the last lever to get them off the ship. "I'm sorry about your friend," she whispered to him.

The Doctor paused to give Hermione a strange look. His eyes went wide when he realized that he hadn't discussed Jack's "condition" with her. He glanced over at Ace who was doing her best to keep things together. Judging by her tear streaked cheeks, Jack had never told his fellow Torchwood co-worker either.

"Um... there's something you need to know about Jack," the Doctor said hesitantly. "There are two reasons why I chose to bring him along. The first is he really is one of my closest friends. I can share things with him that I can't share with other people," he stated. Jack and now Rory were the only people he knew that had lived as long as he had and could understand his perspective.

Hermione tightened her grip on the Doctor's hands. "What was the other reason?" she inquired.

"The second reason is...," the Doctor started to say. As if waiting for his cue, Jack drew in a long, ragged breath, interrupting the Doctor. This startled everyone but the Doctor and Vastra, who were both expecting it. "He can't stay dead," he said blandly. The twins, who had been on their knees next to Jack scuttled backwards, completely shocked.

Vastra put her green scaled hand on George's shoulder to comfort him. "I had nearly the same reaction the first time I saw him do that," she told him. "Of course, I was the one who had killed him in the first place, so I suppose it wasn't exactly the same," she admitted. "I killed him three more times that night until he was able to convince me he wasn't there to hurt me or Jenny," she explained. The twins shared a look, vowing to pry out what magic Jack had used to pull that stunt off.

The Doctor walked down the catwalk to where Jack was now sitting. He offered his old friend his hand and helped him stand up. "As always, glad to have you back, Jack," the Doctor said with feeling. He motioned for the others to follow him as he opened up the doors to the TARDIS.

The TARDIS had taken up a stationary position just above the space dock. From there, the travelers watched as the command ship for the 12th Cyber Legion suddenly listed to one side as a massive explosion shot out of the bow. The doomed ship drifted directly into the second, more damaged Cybermen ship causing the second one to split in two. They all watched in awe as the red plasma fiend dragon leapt from one side of the ship to the other, having finally broken free from the engine room. The plasma dragon sensed more fuel to feed off and launched itself at the space dock. The travels watched as it grew dimmer and dimmer, finally winking out of existence right before it could reach the station. The lack of oxygen had forced the plasma fiend to consume itself.

The Doctor closed the doors with a heavy sigh of relief. He gave a stern warning look to the twins who were still in shock over Jack's resurrection. "In the future, let's try to keep the uncontrollable, destructive magics to a minimum, all right?" he asked pointedly. Both twins nodded their heads in silent agreement.

Jack clapped the Doctor on the back and escorted him back to the control consoles. "Where to now, Doc?" he asked, his boyish charm cranked to full power once again.

The smile the Doctor gave Jack was one part mirth and one part fury of a Time Lord. "I think you're going to enjoy this," he said, leaning against the console. "We're going back to July 31, 1997. Once there, we're going to rescue my daughter's boyfriend from a very abusive foster family," he explained.

Jack rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He truly hated those who abused kids. His hands stopped when the realization of what else the Doctor had said clawed its way to the forefront of his mind. "Your what?" he exclaimed, darting a glance towards Hermione.


	4. Chapter 4

**TARDIS, inside the Vortex**

The "glass" jars and fixtures inside the crystal column of the Time Rotor rose to the top and started vibrating, stuck in place. "No…no…no…no," the Doctor swore quickly and ran around the six paneled control console, spinning knobs, flipping levers, and smashing buttons. Nothing he did could get the Time Rotor moving again.

"It's not supposed to do that, is it?" Hermione asked needlessly.

"Don't worry… I can fix this," the Doctor replied hesitantly. "_I think,_" he muttered under his breath. He grabbed Hermione by the arm and dragged her to the navigation panel. "I need to make some quick repairs. When I tell you to, turn this green knob clockwise," he told her before scampering off the platform. "Jack, I need your help," the Doctor called out to his old friend.

Jack sauntered over and stood next to the Doctor under the transparent aluminum platform. "How can I help, Doc," he inquired.

The Doctor pointed to a series of pipes that ran from the console to a hole in the floor near their feet. "I need you to use your Vortex manipulator to monitor the anti-chronon flow," he instructed. "Let me know if it goes higher than 2.4," he instructed.

Jack flipped back the leather cover and held his left wrist next to the pipes. "Ready when you are," he told the Doctor. "And I mean that it more ways than one," he added with a come-hither look in his eyes.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and took out his sonic screw driver. He changed the settings and shoved it into a tangled bunch of wires. "All right, Hermione, turn the knob clockwise," he shouted. Hermione did exactly as she was told and a fountain of sparks surrounded the Doctor. The sparks were followed by a loud mechanical groan for somewhere deep in the TARDIS.

Hermione ran across the platform to look down at the Doctor. "Are you all right?" she asked her boyfriend.

The Doctor poked his face out from the underside of the controls. Black soot was smudged across his nose and cheeks. He looked quite cross. "Did you turn the green knob?" he asked accusingly.

Hermione met his stare with a cold one of her own. "Yes, I turned the green knob, just like you told me to do," she responded.

"Well, I meant the blue one," the Doctor told her, as if she should have known which one was the correct one.

Hermione stamped her foot and turned on her heel. "Honestly, Doctor!" she swore before storming back to the navigation panel. She found the blue knob easily and waited for the Doctor to tell her to turn _that_ one.

When the Doctor brought his head back under the platform, he found Jack laughing at him. The Doctor didn't say anything and went to work on repairing the wires he had just shorted out. Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him as Jack continued to chuckle. "I know I'm going to regret this, but what's so funny?" he asked.

Jack pointed to where Hermione was standing. "I'm glad to see you finally found a girl who will stand up to you," he replied. Jack's smile got bigger as he snapped his fingers. "I finally figured out who she reminds me of," he stated.

The Doctor was really curious now. He pulled his sonic screwdriver out of the wires as he said, "Go on."

Jack made a dismissive wave with his right hand. "Just someone I was friends with before I joined the agency. She was just as strong willed and bright as Miss Hermione up there," he relayed. "She was actually the one who taught me to shoot and her recommendation got me into the agency," he told the Doctor. "I never did figure out why the agency put so much stock in an archeologist's opinion, but they did," he said. Jack noticed a small smile starting to form on the Doctor's faith. "She was a really good friend, even if she did have really strange tastes in men," he added.

"Let me guess, she refused to sleep with you," the Doctor responded.

Jack held out his hands wide. "Exactly," he replied. "I mean… come on, who can refuse this perfect package?" he asked rhetorically. "She always said her husband wouldn't approve," he told the Doctor, who was smiling even more. Jack glanced up to where Hermione was standing and silently wished she was wearing a mini-skirt instead of blue jeans. "Hermione reminds me of a young River Song," he finished wistfully, missing his friend. River was one of the few people he could remember after the Time Agency wiped his memory.

The Doctor stepped forward and put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "That's because she is the younger version of River," he explained softly.

Jack's eyes went wide and he looked back and forth from Hermione to the Doctor. "That means…" he started to say and then held a hand up to his mouth in surprise. "You're the husband she was talking about," he blurted out. It never even crossed Jack's mind that it could have been someone else. Once the Doctor came into your life, if you were smart, you would never let him go.

"We haven't reached that point yet," the Doctor informed him and took a step back.

"But you will at some time, won't you?" Jack pressed.

It was the Doctor's turn to look up at Hermione. "Someday… yes, I believe we will get married," he whispered. He poked his head out from under the platform again. Making eye contact with Hermione, he smiled at her, letting her know he was sorry for his outburst. She rolled her eyes, but matched his smile with one of her own, her anger melting away. "Turn the blue knob counter-clockwise whenever you're ready. I think it was just a problem with the stabilizers," he told her and then ducked back down to where Jack was.

Jack rushed the Doctor and hugged him fiercely. "Please let me be your best man, please…please," he implored. Jack let go and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Or… I could be the maid of honor. I would look fabulous in a bride's maid dress," he stated without a hint of sarcasm.

**********DrW**********

**Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey**

Catheus Dreggs prowled around the Muggle homes cautiously. He had been sent by the Dark Lord himself to see why the three previous Death Eaters assigned to keep watch on the _boy_ had not reported in. Dreggs had his wand out and had already placed some all purpose wards around himself in case one of Potter's supporters should get it in their heads to attack him. He never saw the young woman who snuck up behind him with all of the skills of veteran commando. The last thing Dreggs remembered was his head being pulled to the side by his hair and a sharp blow to where his neck joined his shoulders.

Ginny Weasley slid the unconscious Death Eater to the ground gently, not wanting to alert one of the few Muggles still left on Privet Drive. When she was sure no one was coming out of their little homes to investigate, she dragged her enemy to a shed in the back of one of the many homes for sale. She grabbed a roll of duck tape and tore off a strip long enough to bind his hands and then another to bind his ankles. A smaller strip covered the Death Eater's mouth, but left him room to breathe through his nose. Ginny propped her most recent prisoner up along the back wall of the shed, next to three other Death eaters, similarly bound and gagged.

Ginny looked down at the roll of tape in her hand. She looked into the eyes of the Death Eater she had ambushed first. "I think this stuff must be how you humans end up taking over the galaxy. It's wonderful," she stated. "If Voldemort sends any more of his goons, I'm going to need another roll," she said absently. The Death Eater flinched at how easy she spoke the Dark Lord's name. Ginny laughed at him. She had run into a few Death Eaters since Dumbledore's death and each time, Voldemort's follower ran like someone had dropped one of Hermione's water proof flames down their pants. It was only after she had captured one did she learn the Dark Lord and made her off limits to everyone and had threatened them with unimaginable pain if they should hurt her. It was a side of Voldemort she had never guessed was there. She wondered if perhaps there was more of her father in Voldemort than he suspected. Ginny's head turned sharply when she heard the unmistakable rising and falling noise of the TARDIS arriving. She looked back down at the Death Eaters. "It's been fun guys, but I have to go now. My Dad's here," she explained and waved at them before shutting the shed door.

The doors to the TARDIS opened and Ginny watched her brothers Fred and George peek around the door frame. "Yeah, Doctor. This looks..." Fred said.

"... like the right place," George finished. "I think that house down at the end of the street is where the Dursleys live," he shouted back into the control room.

"It is," Ginny confirmed while walking towards the TARDIS. "Now get out here and give me a hug you two," she ordered.

The twins scampered out and raced towards their sister. Jack wasn't far behind. "You'll never believe where we've been, Sis," Fred blurted out.

"We were on a space station and then we hopped over to a Cyberman ship where the Doctor let us put our not so insignificant talents to good use," George added.

Jack smirked as he looked at the young, redheaded woman. She was just as attractive as her brothers in Jack's opinion. "Sister huh?" Jack asked rhetorically. "Any chance I get the three of you in some sort of 'family package' deal?" he inquired, upping his production of pheromones as he walked over to them. "It will be a weekend that you'll never forget and could probably make a lot of money writing about," he offered.

Fred and George glanced from Ginny to Jack and back again. They knew their sister had a bad temper and hoped she wouldn't be too offended. They were relieved when she only rolled her eyes instead of hexing Jack. "Sorry, I was taught not to accept offers from strangers," she replied.

Jack smiled his million watt smile and offered his hand. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness," he said, introducing himself.

"Ginny Weasley," Ginny replied and shook his hand.

Jack held on to her hand for just a moment longer than was proper. "Now that we're no longer strangers, what do think about my offer?" he purred.

Ginny smiled at him and Jack thought he saw a flicker of mischief similar to her brothers' dance in her eyes. "What do you think, Dad? Should I take him up on his offer?" she asked the person standing behind Jack. She skipped past Jack and placed a kiss on the Doctor's cheek.

Jack did a double take when he saw her kiss the Doctor. He then shifted his gaze over to the twins, drawing the wrong conclusion about who their father was. Jack thought about what his closest friend had done to the Family of Blood and half a dozen other enemies. They had only threatened to wipe out humanity. Jack, on the other hand, had just propositioned the Doctor's kids. As a father himself, he knew what was probably going through the Doctor's mind. "I am so screwed," Jack muttered.

There was an uncomfortable silence until the Doctor started to snicker. The snicker turned into a chortle and then an outright guffaw. "In all the years I've known you Jack, this is the first time I've ever seen you embarrassed," he laughed. After a moment, the Doctor got himself under control. "What Ginny does with her love life is her business, all though I think her boyfriend might have some issues with your proposal," he told Jack.

Jack ran his hand through his hair, giving himself time to collect his thoughts. "How about the boys? You're not going to hand me back to the Master for hitting on your sons are you?" he asked.

"He's not our Dad!" the twins said in unison.

Jack pointed a finger at the twins and then Ginny, trying to make sense of things. "I was adopted by the Weasleys," she filled in the missing part of his equation.

Jack perked up immediately. "Is that so," he said suggestively and winked at the twins.

Ginny shook her head and looked over at the house she had come to think of as a P.O.W. camp. "You can try and seduce my brothers later. We have less than half an hour before we rescue Harry from that filth," she informed Jack.

George put his hand up to his forehead in mock distress. "I can't believe our little Ginny could even think of uttering a sentence like that," he sighed. "What has the youth of our community come to?" he bemoaned.

Fred pretended to look thoughtful for a moment. "Of course, our 'little' sister is actually older than we are and an alien to boot," he reminded his brother.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that part," George replied. "Carry on," he suggested to Ginny with a smirk.

Jack smiled at the banter between the siblings. He winked at the twins again and focused his attention on Ginny. He dropped his Peter Pan boyishness for a moment and became serious. "The Doctor mentioned an abusive foster family. What exactly are we talking about here?" he inquired.

Hermione had joined the group standing in the bushes watching the Dursleys' house. "Harry doesn't like to talk about it, but he's been my best friend since we started Hogwarts," she told Jack. "Over the years I was able to get out of him that they forced him to live in a cupboard under the stairs for most of his life. They made him do all the housework since he was old enough to hold a broom. They told him he was worthless and that his mother and father had been worse than him every chance they got," she explained, her voice strained with anguish.

Jack slowly clenched and then unclenched his fists. His childhood had been stolen from him by monsters and it sounded like this Harry fellow had his stolen by monsters as well. At least in Jack's case, the monsters were from another species. He clenched his fists one more time and then relaxed them slowly, a small smile playing over his face. Ginny felt cold satisfaction when she saw Jack's smile. It was just like the ones the twins got when they came up with a truly poetic way to pay somebody back.

"Will you folks excuse me for a moment?" Jack begged. "I have a few calls to make," he explained and walked behind the TARDIS to make his calls in private, his Vortex manipulator already held up to his face.

After about 15 minutes, a bright flash of white light came from behind the TARDIS. Ginny's Vortex manipulator chirped, letting her know someone had just used a mat-trans beam in their area. Jack strolled towards them, patting the outside pocket of his trench coat. He raised his hand to forestall any questions and simply said, "It's a surprise."

Vernon Dursley paced back and forth in the living room, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. He giggled happily every time he looked over at Harry's meager possessions stacked in the hall. His smile faded a little when he looked up at the gaudy clock on the mantelpiece above the fireplace. They still had another 15 minutes before Harry turned 17 and he could throw his _magical_ nephew out of their home for good.

A knock on the door startled everyone, including Harry who was as eager for the clock to hurry up as his Uncle. Harry peered through the little window in the door and saw a tall man wearing a blue overcoat waiting patiently. Across the street, Harry could see Ginny, the twins, the Doctor, and Hermione standing next to a parked car. The twins each gave him a big thumbs up sign and a cheesy smile. Harry opened the door to let the man in.

As soon as the door opened, Jack Harkness pushed his way past Harry, giving him a look usually reserved for something found under a rotting log. Jack tilted his head just slightly so that only Harry saw him wink at him. Jack continued into the living room where he found the Dursleys huddled together. To Jack, they resembled what he imagined what a human / slitheen hybrid would look like. He thought that the terms "fat" and "stupid" were invented for just these people.

Vernon managed to get some courage when the tall stranger didn't do anything other than look around the room slowly. "Who are you? How dare you burst into my home like this?" he demanded.

Jack fished out his old Torchwood ID and showed it to the Dursleys. "Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood," he stated officially.

"Who the bloody hell is Torchwood?" Vernon snapped back.

Jack folded his Id up and stuck it back in his pocket. "Torchwood is an agency tasked with investigating the strange and unusual," he replied, stretching their actual mission statement a bit. Torchwood was actually responsible for investigating alien sightings, killing any aliens that they found in the name of security, and harvesting their technology. As far as Jack knew, Torchwood rarely got involved in anything dealing with magic.

Vernon glared at Harry, the hate clearly visible. "Nothing like that going on here. Nothing at all," he hissed through clenched teeth.

Jack put on a look of surprise, his con-artist skills in full swing. "Really? Nothing at all out of the ordinary going on here?" he inquired politely.

"No… noth… nothing going on here," Petunia stuttered, her rail thin body shaking with fear.

Jack stared at each Dursley in turn before speaking again. "Are you absolutely positive?" he asked them slowly. "Because I'm authorized to offer you three a new life free of anything to do with magic as well as free room and board for the rest of your lives," he explained.

Dudley pointed an accusing finger at Harry, smiling in triumph. "He's a wizard!" he exclaimed. "I've seen him do lots and lots of magic," he lied.

Vernon put his hand over Dudley's mouth. "Free from any type of magic, you say?" he repeated to Jack.

"And all of your food and housing paid for," Jack reminded him. He pulled out a data pad and stylus from his coat pocket. Had the Dursleys been anywhere close to being intelligent, they would have wondered where such a technological marvel had come from. "All I need you to do is sign your names here giving us authorization to continue. You know how the government loves its forms," he chuckled.

Vernon snatched the data pad and stylus out of Jack's hands and quickly signed his name in the highlighted box before handing it to his wife. He sneered at Harry while Petunia signed her name as well as Dudley's. "Finally, free from you and all of the freaks like you," Vernon spat.

Petunia gave Harry the disdainful look she had perfected in the last 16 years. "Good riddance," she snarled.

Jack took the data pad and stylus back before putting it in his pocket. He reached into his other pocket and withdrew three identical white devices that looked like large wrist watches. "Put these on so we can make sure you are never touched by magic again," he told the Dursleys, handing out the devices. After they had put them on, Dudley stuck out his tongue at Harry. That image was frozen in Harry's mind as his aunt, uncle, and cousin disappeared in a flash of white light. Jack smiled from ear to ear and gave the all clear signal to the rest of the "Rescue Harry Team".

Ginny raced past everyone else and embraced Harry as soon as she was in the house. "I told you we would come to get you," she whispered in Harry's ear before giving him a snog to remember.

When they finally came up for air, Harry saw that Hermione, the Doctor, and the twins had joined them. Harry frowned slightly and looked at Jack. "What happened to the Dursleys?" he wondered. Even though they had abused him for as long as he could remember, they were still family.

The Doctor looked at Jack suspiciously. "Yes, Jack. What did happen to them?" he inquired.

Jack tried to look innocent, but failed miserably. "Yeah, about that," he said as he fished the data pad back out. He handed it to the Doctor, his eyes sparkling. "I need you to read over this contract and give your permission to proceed," he told him. Ginny gave Jack a curious look. He turned to face her. "What I did was in violation of the Shadow Proclamation section 12," he stated. "In order for it to be legal, either an officer in the Shadow Proclamation or a member of the Shadow Parliament has to give me permission. Since your dad is the last person from Gallifrey, he becomes the Shadow Parliament delegate by default," he explained.

The Doctor finished reading the data pad and tried hard not to smile. "Normally, I absolutely abhor this type of thing, but this one time I will make an exception," he told Jack. The Doctor pressed his thumb on the corner of the data pad. "I, the Doctor - delegate from the planet Gallifrey to the Shadow Parliament, do hereby authorize this one time exception to Earth's status as a level 5 protected planet," he proclaimed and then handed the data pad back to Jack who pressed a button on the side. A blue laser swept around the room, taking measurements. When it was done, Jack tossed the data pad onto the couch where it disappeared in a flash of white light.

"Will one of you two _boys_ quit grinning like the cat that ate the canary and tell us what is going on?" Hermione complained.

Jack smirked before answering. "I was able to contact a cruiser from Segonax that was passing by Mars. Turns out they know the Doctor and offered to help," he told Ginny. Turning to face the Doctor, he added, "Kingpin wanted me to tell you hello by the way."

"So Jack sent them to an alien spaceship?" Harry asked. He still had problems sometimes coming to grips with the fact that aliens were very, very real – even if he was madly in love with one.

The Doctor pointed up at the ceiling. "Harry, Jack just sold your uncle, aunt, and cousin to a traveling circus. Their signatures and my approval made it permanent," he explained happily. _Sort of makes me wish I hadn't gotten rid of the Gods of Ragnarok. The Dursleys deserved worse,_ he thought.

Harry grinned from ear to ear and nodded in thanks to Jack, words to express his gratitude escaping him. Ginny skipped over to Jack and placed a kiss on his cheek.

**********DrW**********

**Psychic Circus space cruiser, outbound flight past Jupiter**

Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley blinked their eyes after the brilliant flash of light. When they could see again, they looked around their living room. Everyone else had simply vanished, leaving them alone. Vernon was about to say something when the far wall suddenly slid aside, revealing a large glass barrier. Behind the barrier were all types of aliens, none of them looking even remotely human. One alien, who looked like a cross between an octopus and bee, pointed one of its tentacles at them and made a noise that sounded remarkably like laughter.

Dudley's eyes rolled back in his head as he fainted dead away. For her part, Petunia let out a blood curdling scream. Vernon looked up at the ceiling and screamed angrily at the top of his lungs, "Harry Potterrrrrrr!"


	5. Chapter 5

**The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole**

Molly Weasley sat alone at the end of the extra-long table in the dining room. Her left arm was in a sling and she absent-mindedly ran her other hand over where the Death Eater had hit her with a curse. It hurt like hell, but she deal with pain. It was the thought of possibly having to have her arm taken off that really bothered her. The curse had only been a glancing blow, but her wounds had been resistant to magical healing and were not getting any better on their own.

To take her mind off of her arm, Molly sighed loudly as she looked around at the empty chairs ringing the dining table. Her husband, Arthur Weasley, heard her sigh from the living room and silently walked over to put his hand on her shoulder. Molly reached up and covered his hand with her own.

The past few months had been far too quiet for them after so many years of having a house full of children. Their oldest child, Charlie, had found a home in Romania after he became a dragon researcher. Bill and Percy had found flats in London so they could be closer to their jobs. The twins had a small apartment above their store, but had recently taken up traveling with the Doctor. Even their youngest, Ginny, had left home to keep a protective eye over her boyfriend, Harry. Molly and Arthur both knew that since Ginny's memories as a Time Lady had been returned, it was only a matter of time before she left the Earth, the wanderlust of her biological father being far too strong in her blood to do otherwise. The only one of their children who was still at home was Ron, and he spent much of his time out with his girlfriend, Luna Lovegood.

Arthur and Molly were thinking along those lines when they were startled by the Family clock chiming loudly, announcing returning family members with six of the hands swinging to land on "at home". Seconds later, the noises of the TARDIS landing came from outside. Molly squeezed Arthur's hand before letting hers drop. "Set the table dear, I'm sure our family will be hungry and want a mid-night snack," she instructed her husband.

Fred, George, Jenny, and Vastra were the first ones out of the TARDIS. The twins heard a rustle of leaves from a nearby bush and then watched in horror as a fairly good sized gnome came darting out. The gnome made a bee line for them and then bit Jenny on the shin. She yelped and spun around trying to find what had attacked her. Vastra used the pit organs located just above her nostrils to find the gnome by "seeing" into the infrared spectrum. She spotted it hiding under some low hanging branches of a shrub to their left.

Fred and George turned red from embarrassment. "Sorry, Jenny," Fred apologized. "With the war going on, our parents probably haven't had time to de-gnome the garden," he told her, clearly mortified that a guest had been attacked.

Vastra kept her head turned towards the gnome who was hiding, most likely waiting for another chance at biting one of them. "Was that _thing_ a pet?" she asked coldly.

"Pets?" George swore. "The little brutes are a bloody nuisance – always taking a bite out of someone when they aren't expecting it," he explained. George suddenly smiled as he remembered something. "Fred, remember that one time when mum was working in the garden and one snuck up behind her and bit her right on the…" he started to say.

"So they are pests… a nuisance?" Vastra inquired, interrupting him.

"They're a bigger pain in the arse than our brother Percy," Fred replied.

Vastra smiled and licked her lips. From the heat signature, she could tell the animal was a mammal. Without turning her head she put a hand on Jenny's arm. "Go inside, my love. I'm going to avenge your pretty little shin and indulge myself in some _fast_ food," she told her lover. When she was done speaking, Vastra's tongue shot out and paralyzed the gnome who had thought he was completely hidden from the tall creatures.

The twins looked slightly ill when they realized what Vastra meant. "Come on, Jenny," George suggested and motioned with his hand towards the back door of the Burrow. The rest of the travelers exited the old blue box and followed the twins into the house, careful not to look over at Vastra while she ate.

Inside the Burrow, things had returned to comforting chaos with people rushing back and forth. Arthur and Molly sighed in contentment when the background noise of so many people drowned out their feelings of loneliness. Ace made her way over to them with a handsome man in who looked to be somewhere in his early 40s in tow. "Molly… Arthur, I would like to introduce you to a good friend and colleague of mine, Captain Jack Harkness," she said. A battered copy of one of the Jamie Bonds books caught her eye on an end table so she decided to add, "He also uses the pen name, Captain James Harper." Ace knew how much Arthur loved the series.

Arthur's eyes grew wide and he energetically shook Jack's hand. "It's an honor, sir," he gushed. He spun around and grabbed the book Ace had seen. "Do you think I could get you to sign a copy?" he begged.

"Arthur, leave him be," Molly warned. "He's just got here and would probably like to take some time to rest," she added.

Jack put forth all of the charm he could muster. "Actually, I would be delighted to sign the book," he told her, flashing his perfect white teeth. He dug a pen out of his coat and took the offered book. "To my friend Arthur, thank you for being such a good fan and allowing me the chance to spend a wonderful time getting to know your family. Love, Captain J. H.," he read aloud as he wrote. Jack chuckled as he handed the book back to Arthur. "I wrote the first book as a way of slipping the concept of the Black CATs into the collective unconscious of the wizarding world. It never occurred to me it would be such a hit and lead to ten other books," he explained.

Arthur took the book back and reverently placed it on the end table. "Captain Harkness…" he started to say before Jack interrupted him.

"Please, call me Jack," Jack offered.

Arthur blushed slightly at the thought of calling his favorite author by his first name. "Um… well… yes, Jack, thank you," he replied. "There's a question about your works that I've always wanted to ask you," he stated.

"Go ahead," Jack responded warmly.

"Where did you come up with the idea about an omnisexual action hero?" Arthur asked. Some of the scenes in the books were so graphic that he had insisted his children wait until they were of age before reading them. All though he could never prove it, Arthur thought that the twins had heard him make that decree and snuck off to the library that very same day.

Jack smiled at Arthur's question. He decided the truth was probably the best answer. "I was always told that an author should put something of himself in everything he writes," he replied. To add emphasis, he winked suggestively at first Arthur and then Molly.

Molly bolted out of her chair and made her way to the kitchen, saying, "I need to get that meal started." She was blushing a deep crimson as she hurried off. On more than one occasion, Arthur had read aloud certain passages from the books to get them both in the mood once the children had gone to bed.

"Right behind you, Dear," Arthur said quickly and raced after his wife.

Ace hit Jack on the arm. "Ouch! What was that for?" he demanded.

"Watch your manners around here. Molly and Arthur are good friends of mine," Ace reminded him. She followed Jack's gaze as he glanced over to the twins who were sprawled across the couches, filling in Ron on their trip with the Doctor. "Just so you know… Molly packs a hell of a right hook. Just ask the Doctor," she warned.

The back door opened again and Molly dropped a plate when Vastra walked in, wiping a bit of blood off of the corner of her mouth with a kerchief. The Doctor rushed over and led Vastra to where Molly was standing, still in shock at seeing the dragon lady. "Molly, I would like to introduce you to the Lady Vastra," the Doctor said hastily. "Vastra, this is Molly Weasley, the woman who raised my daughter," he added.

Vastra bowed deeply, her face close to the floor. The Silurian warrior caste was a matriarchal by nature and meeting the woman who had been entrusted to raise the last Time Lady was a huge honor. "Thank you for letting me into your home, respected mother," Vastra said solemnly. When she straightened up, she saw Molly's arm in the sling. The dressing around the wound looked like it needed to be changed since blood was starting to seep through. "Are you injured, respected mother?" she inquired.

"Please, just call me Molly," Molly requested. She looked down at her arm. "I took a glancing curse and the blasted thing refuses to heal," she told Vastra.

Vastra gently took Molly's arm. "May I take a look?" she requested. Molly nodded her head. Vastra peeled off the layers of dressing and saw the bloody wound below it. She turned her head to look at Jenny. "Love, would you fetch me the multi-form fungi. I believe it's in the blue vial. Oh... also bring the sprayer, thank you," she ordered.

After a few minutes, Jenny returned with the vial and a small metal device that looked like a pistol. The back was open and looked like the vial would fit perfectly in it. Vastra took the vial and popped open the top with her thumb. "This fungus grows on the cave walls near where my sisters and I slept," she told Molly. "Our scientists found out that when mixed with the blood of an animal such as you or me, the spores change to mimic the stem cells of the host animal," she explained. "The original variety would then go on to consume the host, but we were able to breed a version that goes dormant after the stem cell conversion," she went on. "With your permission, I would like to use this on your arm to repair the damage," she requested.

Molly looked at the vial suspiciously. "Are you certain it's safe?" she asked.

Jenny nodded her head behind Vastra. "Our line of work can be... hazardous at best. I've had the misfortune of having to use it several times," she assured Molly.

When Molly didn't say anything else, Vastra decided to proceed. "May I see your other hand, please?" she asked. Molly held out her good arm and before she could react, Vastra grabbed her hand and used one of her talons to poke a tiny hole in Molly's thumb. She held Molly's hand over the vial and let three large drops of blood land on the fungi. Vastra let go of Molly's hand and flipped the lid back on the vial. She shook it several times before loading the sprayer. With a back and forth sweeping motion, Vastra applied the new stem cells directly to the wound. Molly winced at the pain. Vastra closed her eyes in annoyance with herself. "I'm getting nearly as scatterbrained as the Doctor," she muttered. "Jenny dear, would you run back to the TARDIS and fetch the growth accelerator?" she asked.

Without saying a word, Jenny pulled a red colored vial out of a pocket sewn into her skirt. She handed it to Vastra with a playful smile. "Thank you, love," Vastra said. "You always know what I need," she told her, the double meaning in her words clear to everyone.

Molly's arm went from hurting to itching almost instantly as Vastra sprayed the second vial on her arm. As the new cells replaced the damaged ones, the itching faded away. Thankful for the help, she looked up at Vastra and tried for some small talk to make the reptilian woman comfortable. "So… what planet are you from?" she asked politely.

Vastra managed a small smile for Molly's benefit. "Earth… I was hatched in a crèche a few miles from London," she replied. This caused Molly to frown in confusion.

The Doctor forced his way into the conversation. "Yes, but that was 300 million years ago," he pointed out. Turning to look at Molly he said, "Vastra is a Silurian… or _homo-reptilia_. They evolved on your planet millions of years before your kind did. Come to think about, humans only evolved after a little help from them I might add," he told her. "They went into hibernation before the great cataclysm, something went wrong, and only a few hibernation centers have reactivated since then. The one Vastra was in came to life when workers were building the London Underground back in 1880," he explained. "You two can talk about this later, but right now we have more important things to discuss," he suggested. Vastra dramatically rolled her eyes, making Molly grin.

The Doctor clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Now that we're all here, let's go over what went on while Hermione and I were making sure the universe wouldn't collapse due to a paradox involving her and her parents," he stated. Turning around in a circle, he finally stopped and pointed at Ron. "What has by bad self been up to?" he asked. After a brief moment, the Doctor muttered, "Never saying that again."

Ron sighed before responding. "The Minister of Magic was killed and replaced by a Death Eater, Pius Thicknesse," he told the Doctor. "Dad's been placed on administrative leave while the new inquisitors look into his 'dealing with Muggles'," he added in disgust. If it hadn't been for the Doctor traveling in time and investing money for his dad, they would have been left destitute after the extended unpaid time off. As it was, his dad secretly withdrew from their hidden account so as not to draw any more attention to them.

The Doctor grimaced at that turn of events. "That's not good," he said blandly. He pointed at Harry. "What have you learned about Voldemort while we were gone?" he asked.

Harry self-consciously pushed his glasses higher up on his nose before answering. "Ron and I were able to get Prof. Slughorn to tell us what a Horcrux was," he replied.

Jack took a seat on the couch between the twins, throwing his arms across the back of the couch. "OK, I'll bite. What's a Horcrux?" he inquired.

Ginny stepped up next to Harry and handed him a sandwich while Arthur and Molly went around the room handing out other sandwiches. Ginny picked up a knickknack and held it out. "A Horcrux is an item where a really dark wizard stores a piece of their soul," she explained. "It can be anything - any size or shape," she added, gesturing with the trinket.

Ron looked like he was feeling ill. "The really twisted part is that to make one, the wizard has to commit a murder to fracture off a piece of their own soul," he told the Doctor.

This made the Doctor equally uncomfortable. The Valeyard had been nearly impossible to destroy the last time they fought. Keeping parts of his soul hidden and safely tucked away would only make things that much more difficult. "Do we know how many of things Moldy-shorts managed to create?" he asked Harry, giving in to his habit of refusing to call the Valeyard by name. It was done out of contempt rather than out of fear the likes of which gripped the wizarding world.

Ginny took Harry's hand. She knew the link he shared with Voldemort caused him both pain and shame. "Through a very reliable source, we were able to confirm that Voldemort made six Horcrux," she replied. "Out of the six, we know the identity of three of them," she stated. Ginny held up her hand and counted off on her fingers. "The first was Tom Riddle's diary. The second one was Marvolo Gaunt's ring. The third one is Salazar Slytherin's locket," she explained. "The first two have been taken care of. Harry destroyed the diary when he saved me during my first year. Prof. Dumbledore broke the ring, but it cost him his hand," she told the Doctor.

The Doctor clenched his fists in anger at the thought of what his other self had done to _their_ daughter. Hermione had told the Doctor all about how Ginny had been possessed by Riddle and how he used her to reopen the Chamber of Secrets. Had Harry not destroyed the diary, Riddle would have drained the life out of Ginny to make his shade corporeal. A fragment of the Valeyard had almost taken Ginny away from him before he could find again. The Doctor forced himself to silently count to 100 in four different languages before he could unclench his fists. It was one more reason to make sure the Valeyard was destroyed completely this time.

"I take it the locket is still at large?" Jack interjected.

Harry looked down at the floor, sadness in his eyes. "Prof. Dumbledore took me to a cave where he forced me to make him drink a potion that caused incredible pain," he said softly. "By doing so, we were able to retrieve what we thought was Salazar Slytherin's locket," he stated. "What we actually got was a counterfeit one. Somebody else had beaten us to it," he nearly shouted in anger.

"All right, so at least we know it is out there somewhere. It's a good place to start," Jack said optimistically. "If I can find out what this locket looks like, I can hack into the Torchwood computers and run an image search on the CCTV cameras of London," he suggested. Most of the wizards in the room had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, so they all just nodded their heads.

Harry dug into a pocket of his jeans and tossed the locket to Jack. "Here, you can have the fake one if you think it will help," he told Jack.

Jack caught the locket in one hand and let it dangle in front of him. "Perfect! I'll scan this in and get right to work," he exclaimed.

The Doctor had watched Harry toss the locket and Jack hold it out. Something behind Jack on the window sill caught the Doctor's eye. He walked over to the window and picked up a copy of the wizarding world's newspaper, the Daily Prophet. "I don't think that will be necessary, Jack," he said suddenly while picking up the paper. He turned it around so everyone else could see the front page photo. The living photograph showed a very disagreeable woman preening as she was appointed the Head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission. "I have a pretty good idea where we should look," he told his friends and family. Around Dolores Umbridge's neck was a locket identical to the one in Jack's hand.


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor was still holding the copy of The Daily Prophet in his hand as Jack sat back down on the couch, his outstretched arms just a bit closer to the twins' shoulders than they had been a few minutes earlier. "Well, that speeds up the search," Jack joked. "Now all we need to do is figure out where she is and the locket is as good as ours," he boasted.

Arthur sighed loudly before speaking. "That's Dolores Umbridge. She works inside the Ministry of Magic these days," he stated. "She's responsible for rounding up the half-bloods and Muggle-born among us and taking their wands," he said sourly. He turned to face Hermione. "Because your parents were both Muggles, you have been declared undesirable number 2," he told her.

"Who's number one?" Hermione asked, slightly peeved. Even if it was the Ministries most wanted list, it bothered her that she wasn't first. Harry raised his hand, silently answering her question.

Vastra stepped into the living room and took the paper from the Doctor's hands. She studied the photo and then tossed the paper down in disgust. "I'm not really good at judging your species by how you appear considering you all look alike to me, but even I can tell that is a very disagreeable woman," she exclaimed.

"You have no idea," Harry muttered under his breath.

Hermione was close enough to Harry to hear him and grabbed his left wrist. "You're right, they don't know, but they should," she said sternly. Yanking on Harry's arm, she dragged him to the center of the living room so everyone could see the thin scars on the back of his left hand.

The Doctor stooped over and twisted his head so he could read Harry's hand when he realized the scars formed words. "I must not tell lies," he read aloud. "Why are those words etched into your hand, Harry?" the Doctor demanded. His demeanor had changed, becoming cold and still - like the air right before a terrible storm.

Hermione answered for Harry. "Harry refused to do as the Ministry asked and claim that Voldemort was dead. Instead he told people the truth," she replied. "Umbridge forced Harry to write out those words thousands of times with a magical quill that only wrote in his blood," she told her boyfriend. The rest of the room grew still as that sunk in. Arthur and Molly looked at the floor guiltily. They felt partly responsible since Harry didn't have parents who could have stood up for him in front of Hogwarts' board of trustees. Jack clenched his jaw in anger, his eyes almost as cold as the Doctor's. Vastra's hand had unconsciously slid to the hilt of her sword. Harry noticed these protective gestures and was amazed so many people wanted to look out for him.

Arthur was the first to break the silence. "The Ministry is heavily guarded and full of Death Eaters. They've been told to look out for every known member of the Order of the Phoenix," he told the group. "That includes all of my children as well as Harry and Hermione," he explained. "From some probing done by other Order members, we know Umbridge's home is even more shielded than ours," he added. "I don't have a clue as to when you might be able to get to her," he said sadly.

Jack watched as his oldest friend started to grin slightly. "I still recognize that look, even if it is on a new face, Doc," he told the Doctor. "You have a plan," he surmised.

The Doctor turned to face Jack, his manic energy returning. "Yes... I suppose I do," he agreed. "Do you still have your slightly psychic paper?" he asked. Jack reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the object in question. He opened up the paper and smiled suggestively.

Hermione only saw a blank piece of paper, but judging from the embarrassed blushes coming from most of the Weasleys, she didn't really want to know what it said. "What's your plan Doctor?" she inquired.

"We are going to the Ministry of Magic and taking the locket from that horrible woman," the Doctor replied. "Jack and I can use our slightly psychic paper to get into the Ministry. Bureaucrats just love official looking IDs," he stated. He pulled his black, second-hand robe out of his jacket pocket and draped it over his shoulders, leaving the front open again. "Jack's coat it close enough to a robe, so I think we'll pass," he explained.

Hermione put her hands on her hips defiantly. "I'm not letting you two go into the Ministry alone," she said, her tone leaving no room for discussion.

The Doctor stepped over to Hermione and put his hand lovingly on her shoulder. "I wouldn't dream of it," he replied softly.

"They'll be on you as soon as someone recognizes 'Mione," Ron warned.

Hermione glared at Ron. "Then I'll have to look like someone else, won't I," she said sarcastically. "I still have a stash of polyjuice potion set aside," she reminded him. At the mention of polyjuice potion, Harry and Ron both looked a bit ill as they remembered when they had used it for the first time during their second year at Hogwarts. "All we have to do is get a hair sample from someone the Death Eaters don't suspect, add it to the potion, drink it, and I'll be able to join you in the Ministry," she explained.

The Doctor made a sour face. "That sounds disgusting," he muttered.

Ron nodded his head in agreement. "You can say that again, Doctor. It smells worse than your Lungbarrow porridge and it tastes worse than it smells," he added to the conversation.

"Like I said... disgusting," the Doctor repeated.

Hermione put her hands on her hips and stared at the Doctor. "If you have a better idea, I would love to hear it," she told him.

The Doctor beamed at her while he dug around in his larger on the inside pocket of his jacket. "Of course I have a better idea, I'm the Doctor," he reminded her with a wink. "Ah-ha!" he exclaimed when he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a length of silver chain with a large, spherical metallic pendant hanging from it. In the center of the silver sphere was a blue crystal with copper wires leading out of it to the edge of the sphere. Hermione noticed the blue was the same color as the outside of the TARDIS.

Jack jumped off the couch as ran to the Doctor. "You finally got that thing working?" he inquired, studying the pendant.

The Doctor looked down at the chain for a moment and then replied hesitantly, "Um... more or less. I've been tinkering with it off and on whenever I have a free moment. As a Time Lord, you would think I would have more of those." He placed the chain around Hermione's neck. "I call this a Personal Holographic Aid and Reconnaissance Tool," he told Hermione. He tapped the center crystal with his index finger. "This crystal is quantumly linked to the TARDIS. Once you activate the device, the TARDIS scans the area and chooses a disguise for you - much like the Chameleon Circuit is supposed to do. After the TARDIS makes its decision, it projects a multi-spectrum holographic field around the wearer," he explained.

Hermione held the pendant in her hands and looked at skeptically. "What's the catch?" she wondered aloud.

Jack answered before the Doctor could. "The catch is the TARDIS chooses your disguise," he responded before turning to look at the Doctor accusingly. "Sometimes it isn't exactly what you want," he added.

The Doctor held up his hands in defense. "Look... I already said I was sorry. Besides, it wasn't really my fault. I think the TARDIS was just cross with you that day," he tried to explain.

Jack moved his eyes from the Doctor to Hermione. "Your boyfriend here had me try it so he could work the bugs out. The blue of the pendant matches my eyes, so I said yes," he told her. "The pattern the TARDIS chose for me was a giant fire hydrant," he said, wincing at the memory.

"That doesn't sound _too_ bad," Hermione replied hesitantly.

Jack shook his head in remembered disgust. "We were on Canus Major at the time - a planet inhabited by sentient dogs," he explained with a grimace. Fred and George fell off the couch laughing at the image that popped into their heads.

While Hermione tried to think of anything she might have done to offend the TARDIS, George grabbed a quill as well as some parchment. He scribbled something quickly, snickering the entire time he wrote. He showed it to his twin who also started to chuckle. Harry looked at the twins curiously. George smiled and turned the parchment over so Harry could read what he had written. On the parchment was the acronym for the device Hermione had around her neck. Harry snorted when he put the letters together.

Fred hopped off the couch and leaned on the wall near the Doctor. "Doctor, I'm not sure how they do things where you're from, but around here it's considered impolite to have a PHART in public, let alone hang one around your girlfriend's neck," he said with a straight face.

Hermione rolled her eyes in frustration when Jack started to giggle along with the twins and Harry. "Honestly, you would think you all were all twelve years old," she exclaimed in irritation. Having mustered up enough courage, Hermione touched the center crystal, activating it.

Jack stopped laughing and wistful smile spread across his face. "I didn't expect that," he said softly. The Doctor was also smiling, but he looked less surprised.

Hermione hurried off to the hall where a mirror hung on the wall. The face looking back at her was one she had recently encountered. Jack walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hello, River," he whispered. Hermione looked harder in the mirror and took time to study her older self. Her hair was a bit longer and a little frizzier. She was dressed in a white jacket with matching, tight white leather pants. A white, fur lined cloak hung over her shoulders and was held on by a silver chain. Her larger bosom drew her attention again and she slowly lifted a hand to her breasts.

"They're not real," the Doctor told her as he stepped into the hallway. Hermione gave him a questioning glance. "What I mean to say is those are a holographic projection. I'm fairly certain River's are real," he corrected himself.

"How do you know?" Hermione demanded. Jack caught the hint of a smile on "River's" face.

"I built the thing, I should know whether or not it projects a holographic field," the Doctor replied, slightly confused by her question.

Jack winked at Hermione, encouraging her to go on. "I meant, how do you know my future self's breasts are real?" she corrected. Before the Doctor could answer, she added, "Have you touched them?"

The Doctor's eyes grew wide as he blushed. "No... I mean yes... I mean sort of," he stammered. "River has used me to break her fall on more than one occasion and my hand might just have brushed against... well..." he started to say. "Can we talk about something else, please?" he begged, clearly flustered.

The image of River Song walked past the Doctor. When she was shoulder to shoulder to him, she whispered in his ear, "I'm sure my future self didn't mind." This made the Doctor blush even more. For some reason she didn't understand, wearing River's body gave Hermione much more confidence when flirting with the Doctor.

Jack hurried past the Doctor and whispered to Hermione, "Just so you know, I now consider you the newest and well... only pupil in the Jack Harkness School of Flirting." He walked past her and sat back down again between the twins, his arms just barely resting against their shoulders.

Ginny stepped into the center of the living room with Harry in tow. "We're going with you," she informed her biological father.

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Ginny, I only built the one Personal Holographic Aid and Recon Tool," he told her.

Harry snorted in laughter again at the name of the device. Ginny managed to keep a straight face, but it had been a hard task. She shook her head to clear her mind. "We won't need one. Harry has a cloak of invisibility and we can both fit under it," she explained. "Show him, Harry," she suggested. Harry pulled out his father's cloak from under his robe, tossed it over his head, and disappeared from view. Ginny cocked her head to the side and muttered, "That's weird."

Harry moved the cloak so his head showed, seemingly suspended in midair. "What's weird?" he inquired.

"I can see you," Ginny replied, still trying to figure out what exactly she was seeing.

The Doctor tapped a spot on the back of his skull and then tapped a spot in the same place on Ginny's. "I can _see_him as well, but I sincerely doubt anyone else can. What you're _seeing_ is his temporal footprint - a shadow of his Timestream," he explained.

Arthur shook his head in dismay. "The Ministry has invisibility detectors at every entrance," he told his adopted daughter.

Ginny smiled at him and held up her wrist, displaying her Vortex Manipulator. "That's where this comes in. I can set it to project a small perception filter. The spells will detect the cloak, but they just won't care," she explained. Jack frowned at what Ginny was saying. Much of his knowledge of how the manipulators worked had been wiped from his memory and he could have used that information on more than one occasion.

The Doctor spun around and clapped his hands. "All right, we have our merry little band to go visit the Ministry of Magic," he exclaimed happily. He pointed at Vastra and then Ace. "Ladies, I need you to stay here and help protect the Burrow in case there are more Death Eater attacks. I don't want anyone else getting injured like Molly," he instructed.

Ace and Vastra nodded in assent. Jack reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sonic pistol. He tossed it to Ace. "Here, you might need this. It's an upgrade from the one I used to have," he told her. "This one has a rechargeable battery pack, since _someone_ destroyed the plant where the batteries were produced and put up a banana plantation in its place over night," he said sarcastically while staring at the Doctor.

"Bananas are good for you," the Doctor repeated from the first time he and Jack had had that argument. "By the way, where did you pick those up?" he demanded.

Jack pulled out two more sonic pistols from his coat as well as two holsters. "It's what I traded the Dursleys for," he said merrily. Jack saw the Doctor's eyes lock on to one of the pistols in his hand. That one was slightly more silver in color than the other one and had an interchangeable capacitor core. "Yeah, I recognized it right away too," he told the Doctor. Without warning, Jack tossed the pistol and holster to Hermione. She caught them and looked at Jack quizzically. "Don't worry, I'll teach you the finer points of shooting it later and then someday you will return the favor," he told her. "For now, all you need to know is point it at something bad and squeeze the trigger," he explained.

"JACK!" the Doctor yelled angrily.

Jack turned to face the Doctor and then stepped in front of him, his back turned to Hermione. "It's not your call and you know it, Doctor," he challenged. "You know River - the River from the future. She's one of the best shots I've ever seen and I've seen lots of shooters," he told him. "Hermione has to start somewhere," he added before turning so Hermione could see them again.

"No killing, Jack. I meant it!" the Doctor swore. He turned on his heel and barged out of the house, leaving the others to hurry to catch up with him.

Jack stopped Hermione and slid a lever on her pistol. "This setting causes a sonic pattern that interferes with a human neural network causing them to pass out until the wave dissipates. It usually takes anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour before your target regains consciousness," he explained. Jack made a point of adjusting his pistol the same way.

**London, outside of the Ministry of Magic**

The TARDIS materialized in a dark alley a block away from the building that housed the Ministry of Magic. The doors to the old blue box opened and the Doctor stepped out, taking a cautious look around. Satisfied, he motioned the others to follow him. "Sorry I couldn't land us in the Ministry. There's some sort of temporal disturbance down there and the TARDIS refused to go near it," he apologized.

Hermione gave his hand a squeeze, still looking like River. "I don't mind walking," she told him and tried to walk seductively away. The effect was ruined however when she stumbled on a loose paving stone.

"We should head to the public entrance," Ginny's disembodied voice came from behind them. "Dad took me there once. I'm pretty sure it's those doors over there on our right," she told them.

"Right, public entrance it is," the Doctor proclaimed.

Once they were inside the building, Ginny whispered directions to the Doctor and had them stand in the queue for the men's room. Jack shrugged his shoulders and stood in line. Hermione joined them when she saw there were other women waiting in line for the "men's room." Once they reached the stalls, Ginny and Harry pushed in front of the Doctor. They held each other close and stood in the toilet bowl. The Doctor's brow creased in concern when he heard the water splash in the bowl.

"What are we doing?" Harry hissed. His voice drifted away after Ginny reached up and pulled the cord to transport them to the lower levels.

"I believe we have to flush ourselves into the Ministry," the Doctor told Jack in the next stall.

Jack stepped into the toilet bowl muttering, "This is all kinds of wrong, Doc." He pulled the chain and swirled around the bowl before being brought to the Ministry's main lobby. The Doctor flushed himself an instant later.

Jack and the Doctor waited for Hermione to appear in the large fireplace behind them. She looked more than a little disturbed. "Are all men's rooms that dirty?" she wondered aloud.

Jack nodded his head and sighed. "Pretty much, yeah," he replied.

"Eewww," Hermione muttered. She followed Jack and the Doctor as they made their way towards a wizard wearing an arm band and tapping his wand on his hand menacingly.

Jack and the Doctor stepped up close to the security wizard, intruding on his personal space. They both held out their slightly psychic paper. "I'm the Doctor and this is Captain Harkness, Black CATs," the Doctor said sternly. The security wizard's eyes widened in shock when he read their Ids. "This is my assistant, Mrs. Robinson," the Doctor continued. He closed his paper, changed hands behind his back, and held it up again. "Here are her credentials," he told him.

The security wizard had stopped tapping his wand and swallowed hard. "How... how can I help you, gentlemen?" he croaked. He had heard all about Black CATs and the kind of things they were rumored to do.

Jack went into full conman mode. He placed a friendly arm around the guard's shoulder. "We're here on official business. We would really appreciate it if you didn't let anyone know you saw us," he told the man. Jack purposefully paused and then took a step back from the man. He made a show of looking the guard up and down. "Just so you know, the service will be starting a hiring cycle in the next few months. We could really use wizards of your caliber," he lied. Jack took out a pen and wrote down an address. "If you decide to join us, show up here and ask for Mary. Tell her Captain Harkness sent you," he suggested.

The security wizard was nearly bursting with pride. "I'll do that, sir," he told Jack. "I'll also make sure the other security wizards don't bother you three," he added, glad to help the Black CATs.

Jack slapped the man on the shoulder and smiled. "I look forward to hearing about your application," he said and then led the Doctor and Hermione away from the beaming security wizard.

Hermione kicked the back of the Doctor's leg. "_Mrs. Robinson,_ honestly Doctor," she swore. "You're lucky he was a 'pure-blood' wizard and hasn't seen that movie," she hissed. The Doctor just grinned, thinking it was funny that she reacted that way whenever he used that particular name. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Jack. "The twins would be impressed. I've never seen someone conned that easy," she praised him. "Just out of curiosity, where did you send that pour sod?" she inquired.

Jack turned his head slightly to smirk at Hermione. "I sent him to a particularly flamboyant gay bar I used to frequent. Mary is the stage name of one of the drag queen performers. _She_ used to be a sumo wrestler before the call of the stage hit _her_," he chuckled. He could hear Harry and Ginny trying not to laugh behind him. Jack looked around at the swirling sea of wizards around them. "Anybody have any idea on where we should start looking for Umbridge?" he wondered aloud.

"I'll take care of this one," the Doctor responded. He watched the faces of the people walking by. He chose one heavy set man whose face was smugly satisfied instead of tense and anxious. Dodging his way through the crowd, the Doctor intercepted the man. "Excuse me, Sir," he greeted the wizard with a warm smile. "My friend and I have some very important matters to discuss with Ms. Umbridge," he stated, letting his smile become slightly predatory. "Do happen to know where we could find her?" he inquired.

The man the Doctor had chosen for his evil demeanor smiled back at the Doctor. He affectionately hit the Doctor in the shoulder. "Good for you! I wish more of our brother wizards would cooperate with the new order," he praised. "Ms. Umbridge is holding inquisitions down in the Wizengamot chambers," he told the Doctor.

"Thank you," the Doctor said and offered to shake the man's hand. The man did so and then went on his way. When the man was out of sight, the Doctor wiped his hand down the front of his robe before returning to his group. "She's supposed to be somewhere called the Wizengamot Chamber," he told them.

"I know where that is," Harry and Ginny said together.

"Shhhhh!" Jack hissed as a few people looked at them strangely. He met their eyes and smiled. "Practicing ventriloquism for the office talent show next month," he fibbed. The people watching them nodded and walked off. "Lead the way. The Doctor will follow you, since he's the only one who can see you," Jack whispered. "River... I mean... Hermione and I will follow him," he suggested.

Harry and Ginny hurried off down the hall, hand in hand. "This way," the Doctor stated and followed after his daughter and her boyfriend.

After a short elevator ride, they reached the dungeon level that housed the Department of Mysteries and the Wizengamot Chamber. The temperature down there was much cooler than the levels above. Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that something other than being deep underground was causing the chill she felt. They followed the underground corridors past several doors that lead to different parts of the Department of Mysteries. Eventually, they reached a long hallway with evenly spaced alcoves on either side. A heavy looking oak door sat at the end of the hall.

"That's the Wizengamot Chamber," Ginny whispered.

Jack grinned, his expression predatory. "Show time," he said happily. He was looking forward to repaying the horrible Umbridge woman for everything she had done to Harry and the other children who were brave enough to stand up to her.

The small group pushed open the door and walked into the chamber where Great Britain's parliament met. A middle age witch sat in a high backed, wood chair in the middle of the floor. Her terrified eyes darted back and forth from a pair of thuggish looking wizards sitting on the benches ringing the floor and a toad faced woman seated at an elevated chair overlooking the room. The woman glaring down at the prisoner was wearing a tacky pink robe with a white bow tied to the shoulder. The yellow locket they were looking for hung around her neck.

Dolores Umbridge stopped her line of questioning when she saw three people enter the chamber. Her lip curled back in a sneer as she looked down on them. "Uh-hem," she coughed. "This is a closed inquisition," she told them sternly.

Hermione stepped forward, hoping the Doctor and Jack would follow her lead. "I'm sorry, Ms. Umbridge, we don't mean to disturb you, but my name is... River Song," she stated. "I'm a writer for 'Cat Fantastical' magazine. I'm doing a story on powerful women and the cats that love them," she flat out lied. "When my editor gave me the assignment, I couldn't think of any but you to interview," she said, trying to swallow the bile that was threatening to rise into her mouth.

Umbridge patted her chest a few times as if mimicking a racing heartbeat. "Oh my, oh my indeed," she exclaimed. "This inquisition will be over soon and then we can chat," she told Hermione. Umbridge redirected her attention to the witch sitting in the prisoner's chair and held up a wand in her left hand. "Who did you steal this wand from?" she demanded.

"I didn't steal that wand. I bought it from Ollivander's right before my first year at Hogwarts," the young woman replied, shocked by the accusation.

Umbridge managed to look even more like a toad when she hunched her shoulders and leaned over the desk she was sitting at. "You're lying! Only wizards and witches can purchase wands from Ollivander's, and you are not a witch. Your mother was a Muggle!" she said, hatred and loathing dripping off every word.

The young woman on trial was about to reply again when Harry threw off his cloak. "You're the one lying, Dolores, and we must not tell lies!" he shouted sarcastically. He had his wand out and shouted, "_**Petrificus Totalus**_!" Umbridge froze in place, her entire body taking on a grayish tint.

The two Death Eaters acting as body guards drew their wands in response to the attack. Jack was quicker on the draw and shot the Death Eater on the left right between the eyes with his sonic pistol, guaranteeing a massive headache when the man eventually woke up. Ginny had her wand already out and shouted, "**Stupefy**!" while aiming at the Death Eater on their right. That Death Eater was flung backwards and smashed through the benches, knocking him out cold.

Jack raced forward and stopped next to Umbridge's frozen body. "Can she hear me?" he asked Hermione. She nodded while she helped the witch who had been on trial out of the chair. Jack leaned forward and whispered into Umbridge's ear. "I just wanted to let you know that as an omni-sexual, I've had sex with over 40 different species, some of them pretty ugly by human standards," he told her. "Hell, I even had sex with a couple of Nazis during WWII, so it's safe to say I've screwed some losers," he added. "With that said, I want you to know that I would never, ever have sex with you, even if you were the last sentient in the universe," he promised. "I doubt even my old partner John would stoop so low as to have sex with you and he has a thing for poodles," he quipped.

With his right hand, Jack reached into his coat pocket and palmed a small, glass vial. He reached up behind Umbridge's neck, acting like he was having a hard time undoing the clasp on the locket. He moved his mouth even closer to her ear. "The Doctor is my best friend and I love him like a brother, but sometimes he just doesn't understand the best way to deal with certain situations," he whispered. "He made me promise not to kill you, even after he found out what a truly evil piece of crap you are," he snarled, his teeth bared. He snapped the vial between his fingers and let the oil extracted from a certain weevil's scent glands dribble down the back of her neck. "I'll do as he asks and not kill you myself," he told her. Jack undid the clasp of the locket and pulled it away from Umbridge. The last thing he whispered to her was, "Say hi to Janet for me."

Jack held up the locket so the others could see it. "One down," he said happily. He tossed the locket down to the Doctor, who caught it in midair.

As soon as the Doctor closed his hand around the locket, he felt a trap close around him. A Time bubble spread out across the room, freezing everyone in the space between seconds. He was startled to find that not only was he able to move about freely, but so was Harry.

"What's going on, Doctor?" Harry asked worriedly.

The clack of a cane on the polished marble floor kept the Doctor from replying as he turned to look at where the sound was coming from. A man with white hair combed back and dressed in an elegant black suit with a large, black bow tie strode into the room. His eyes were cold and merciless. "Don't bother answering him, I doubt his extremely limited human intelligence could comprehend even a fraction of the answer," he stated.

Harry looked over at the Doctor who was staring at shock at the rude, old man. "Who is he, Doctor?" he demanded.

The Doctor shook his head in astonishment before answering Harry. "That's me... before I regenerated for the first time," he said in disbelief.


	7. Chapter 7

The first Doctor took time to look around the room, his intelligent eyes taking in every detail. After adjusting the sleeves of his black jacket, he turned to stare at the other Doctor. "Which one are you? I don't remember ever meeting such a young looking me before, nor one with such an awful hair style," he inquired.

The eleventh Doctor brushed his long hair out of his eyes and replied, "I'm the eleventh version." He pointed an accusing finger at his younger (although much older looking) self. "The more important question is what are you doing here?" he demanded. "I have no memories of this encounter," he added.

The first Doctor sighed and rolled his eyes. He held up one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just my luck, I've become senile in my old age," he muttered. He dropped his hand and met his other self's eyes. "The answer is quite obvious. It's so obvious in fact, even this human could probably figure it out," he sniped.

Harry turned to face the Doctor he knew and trusted. "This is really you?" he asked, pointing his hand back at the man with white hair. He spared a glance back at the first Doctor before returning his gaze to the current one. "I like the new one better," he told his friend.

"Silence, human!" the first Doctor bellowed. "Even if you are gifted beyond most humans, you are still in the presence of your betters and should remember that!" he warned.

Harry met his eyes defiantly. "I don't care what _the_Doctor said, I have a hard time believing he was ever as rude as you," he fired back. He looked over at the frozen shapes of Ginny, Hermione, and Jack. "Doctor, we need to figure out what is going on so we can save the others," he suggested.

The eleventh Doctor started pacing as he thought. "They're not the ones who are trouble, Harry, we are," he replied. "Somehow we've been trapped in a Time bubble," he stated. "I just can't figure out why it only worked on you and me... well, both of me," he said.

The first Doctor chuckled and stepped up towards Hermione. "Perhaps surrounding yourself with such inferiors has dulled your abilities," he suggested. "Like I said earlier, the answer to what is going on is quite obvious. However, there are much more important questions you should be working on instead," he chastised. "Come on, come on... we don't have all day... well, that isn't exactly true. We're in a Time bubble, so we have unlimited time, but your ignorance is boring me," he prodded.

The Doctor continued pacing around the room, running his hand through his hair. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew the answer was right under his nose. Harry watched him pace and his expression grew concerned. "Doctor..." he said, trying to get his friend's attention.

The Doctor stopped pacing and both Doctors replied, "Yes?"

Harry stepped up to his Doctor. Leaning towards him, Harry whispered, "Where is the locket?"

The Doctor looked down at his now empty hand in shock. He had completely forgotten about the locket. Something was very, very wrong. He closed his eyes and tried to force a mental connection with his past self. What "saw" when touched the other Doctor's mind reminded him of looking in a very tarnished silver mirror. He could recognize himself, but there were dark, ugly spots all over his "reflection". Understanding of what was happening flooded his mind and broke his heart. When he opened his eyes, Harry saw the old alien's eyes were filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry, Harry," was all the Doctor said.

Harry stepped back from the Doctor. "Sorry about what?" he inquired, not certain he wanted to know the answer.

The Doctor paused before answering; trying to decide what he should tell the young man his daughter had fallen in love with. Figuring that a partial truth was better than an outright lie, the Doctor replied, "I made a mistake. We're not in a Time bubble; we're in a psychic bubble. One that was created when the Time Lord portion of Voldemort's soul came into contact with my own." Harry frowned as he tried to understand what the Doctor was talking about. The Doctor went on explaining, "I'm guessing you are here because his attack that left you with that scar did something to you that made it so your soul resonates at the same frequency as ours." He didn't mention that he thought the real reason why Harry was there was because a piece of the Valeyard's soul was trapped inside the young man. It explained the connection Hermione had told him existed between Harry and Voldemort.

The Doctor sighed and turned to face his first self. "As for where the locket went, he's right there," he stated, pointing at the first Doctor.

The first Doctor smiled maliciously as he bowed. He also had made the same conclusion about Harry and was intrigued by his older self's not telling the boy everything. "I knew I would figure things out eventually," he said sarcastically. "Now, let's see if I'm still smart enough to figure out a way out of this trap... or have the hairless apes dragged you down to their mental level?" he inquired.

Harry pointed his wand at the old man with white hair and yelled, "**_Stupefy_**!" He frowned when nothing happened. His frown deepened when he repeated,"**_Stupefy_**!" with the same lack of results.

The first Doctor rolled his eyes. "Definitely hairless apes," he muttered. He pointed at Harry with his cane. "Perhaps you should try beating your chest. It won't do anything to me, but might make your primitive mind feel better," he snarled.

The Doctor held up his hand to keep Harry from responding. "We're in a psychic bubble, Harry. The laws of the outside universe don't apply in here," he told him. "It's up to me to neutralize the Time Lord portion of the soul shard in the Horcrux," he explained.

"And how do I propose to do that?" the first Doctor chuckled. "It took me ages to figure out what I was dealing with in the first place," he laughed. "I really am disappointed in myself," he added.

The Doctor leaned against the short wooden wall that separated the floor from the rings of benches. "That's the easy part," he replied. "I just have to convince you to voluntarily dissipate," he told the soul fragment.

The first Doctor just laughed at the 11th version of himself. Harry glared at the old man. The Doctor noticed the look in Harry's eyes. "I know exactly what you're thinking, Harry," he told his friend. "You're wondering how I'm going to convince this arrogant arsehole to give up," he stated. The first Doctor quit laughing. "Remember Harry, we have the upper hand here. Not only do I have every memory he does, but I have several hundred more years of experience to draw upon," he said reassuringly.

The Doctor slowly walked towards the representation of his first self. "As for the arrogance you're witnessing, Harry… it's actually a defense mechanism," he pointed out. The first Doctor stepped back in fear, knowing where the other Doctor was headed with that line of thought. "It's a way of keeping people away so I couldn't have a chance to care about them," he went on.

"Don't..." the first Doctor plead, the memories of why he fled Gallifrey still a gaping wound in his soul.

The Doctor gently placed his hand on the first Doctor's shoulder. "I was able to keep everyone away except for one person, and she dragged me back to who I really was and taught me to care again," he said softly.

Harry watched the gentle interaction between his Doctor and the other one. "Who was she, Doctor?" he asked.

The first Doctor answered when his older self stayed silent. "Susan... my grand-daughter," he whispered. Suddenly anger flashed behind the old looking man's eyes. "And she left me for one of those hairless apes," he spat.

The Doctor let his hand drop from the other's shoulder. "It's what was supposed to happen. If a person is truly lucky, their children or grandchildren grow up and start families of their own," he reminded his younger self.

Tears started to slide down the first Doctor's cheek. "She was all I had left, the only one who survived that night," he sobbed.

The Doctor walked towards their frozen friends and stood between Hermione and Ginny. "For a very long time, that was true," he agreed with the first Doctor. "But now, I have a chance at love again," he told him. "As a lover..." he said, pointing towards Hermione. "And as a father again," he said gently, tilting his head towards Ginny.

The first Doctor was drawn to Ginny like a loadstone. He studied her intensely until a small, sad smile formed on his face. "She has the same eyes as Susan's mother," he whispered. With a nod of his head, the man with the white hair started to fade away. "Protect them... protect them better than I was able to do," he commanded.

The Doctor ran to stand in front of the first Doctor. "Wait... before you go, tell me what the other questions were that you thought I should work out," he begged.

The first Doctor was almost completely faded away, but the Doctor and Harry could still make out the other man's smile. "You could ask yourself why the Wizengamot chamber is an exact replica of the Chancellor's audience chamber," he suggested before fading completely away. The Doctor spun around, realizing the first Doctor was correct. It looked just as it did the last time he had stood before his old mentor, Borusa.

The room spun and swam around Harry and the Doctor. When the world stabilized, they found themselves standing in the same spots they had been when the Doctor had caught the thrown locket. The Doctor's eyes grew wide in shock when he realized Hermione was in the middle of kissing him. Jack clapped his hands and laughed. "See... just like in the old stories. All it took was a kiss to wake up sleeping handsome," he chuckled.

"Don't you mean 'sleeping beauty'?" Ginny asked Jack.

Jack winked at her as he replied, "Depends on what kind of bookstore you're in, I suppose."

The Doctor looked down at his hand and sighed in relief when he saw he was still holding onto the locket. "What happened from your perspective?" he asked Hermione, who still looked like her older self, River.

"You and Harry suddenly froze in place and we couldn't find a way of snapping you two out of it," she replied. "When we had tried just about everything, Jack suggested that since we might be dealing with a magical stasis, I should try a kiss," she told him. The Doctor smiled as he saw "River" blush in embarrassment, something he had never seen before. He decided to explain the psychic bubble part later.

"How long were we out?" Harry asked, taking Ginny's offered hand.

"Just short of 15 minutes," Ginny responded.

The Doctor jerked his head towards the door. "We should be leaving," he suggested.

Jack was closest to the door and started to walk out, but was stopped when a black cloud flew in front of him and solidified into Lucius Malfoy. As Draco's father raised his wand to hex them, Jack threw a quick punch into the white-blond wizard's nose, distracting him. Lucius didn't have time to protest the barbaric attack before Jack grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him towards Ginny. Ginny followed up Jack's attack with a punch of her own - a roundhouse that knocked Malfoy out. "Move! Move!" Jack commanded and held the door open for everyone else. The Doctor and his group ran down the hall as the enemy arrived.

As more and more black clouds streaked down the hallway past them, Jack snapped off a shot with his sonic pistol into the swarm. One of the clouds solidified as a Death Eaters slid along the floor, unconscious. Several of the clouds changed direction, taking up positions at both ends of the hallway, blocking off any attempts at escape. The Doctor and his friends dove into an alcove to give themselves some cover.

Harry ducked out from behind cover and shouted, "**_Stupefy!_**" He had aimed his curse low and bounced it off the polished marble floor so it struck a Death Eater with an upwards momentum. The Death Eater was lifted from the ground and thrown into the ranks of the enemy behind him. Harry was forced to duck back behind cover when a volley of curses was launched by the remaining Death Eaters in the first row.

Ginny reached into her robe's pocket and pulled out a small box with a red label that read "Weasley Wheezes Portable Swamp" on the front. She tore off the label and counted to three before lobbing the box down the hall. The box exploded right before it hit the ground and drenched the Death Eaters on that end of the hall. Green and brown slime poured out of the box. A spongy orange moss crawled out at attached itself to the ceiling. A few of the Death Eaters bent over and vomited painfully because they had been unfortunate enough to have had their mouths open with the slime splashed all around them. A few of the other Death Eaters swatted away the moss that was intent on draping itself from their heads.

A final black cloud streaked down the hallway and took the form of a dark haired woman dressed all in black. Bellatrix Lestrange cackled her demented laugh as she stood in the front row of Death Eaters blocking the end of the hall closest to the Wizengamot chamber. She giggled when she saw the plight of the other Death Eaters who were trying to deal with the sudden outbreak of swamp at the other end of the hall. Arrogantly striding forward, Bellatrix fired off curse after curse at the boy and his friends. She made it to within a couple of meters before one of her spells finally cracked their defenses. Bellatrix focused on a woman dressed in all white and decided to use one of the oppositions favorite spells against them. "**_Expelliarmus_**!" she shouted, sending the woman's wand flying. Instead of diving for her wand like Bellatrix had expected, the woman pulled a strange device from a leather holder at her waist. Bellatrix cocked her head to the side in confusion and then slid to the floor unconscious as Hermione shot her in the chest with her sonic pistol.

"I think I might just like this thing after all," Hermione muttered and then fired off several more shots down the hallway. Her poor aim was more than made up for by how close the Death eaters were packing themselves in.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the area, hoping to find a some sort of alternate escape route. His eyebrows rose in surprise at the readings he was getting. "Jack!" he yelled, getting his friend's attention. "We need a temporary door on that wall across from us," he shouted.

"That will use up the rest of my battery charge. My gun will be useless until it recharges," Jack complained. The Doctor gave him a stern look. "Right... doorway coming right up," he stated. Jack slid the levers on his sonic pistol to disintegrate. He pointed his pistol at the far wall and fired. A large square opening suddenly formed in the wall, showing them a chamber on the other side.

"Through the door," the Doctor shouted and ran through the new opening. Harry and Ginny were the next ones through followed by Hermione and Jack. Once Jack was in the chamber, he reversed the setting on his pistol and sealed the wall behind them. Unnatural silence made him turn around suddenly, ready to throw his empty pistol at the enemy if necessary. He saw Ginny holding a silently sobbing Harry. Hermione had her hand on the young man's shoulder. In the center of the room was a large, gray stone arch on a raised platform. A sort of shimmering liquid was suspended within the archway itself. Odd looking interlocking circles and straight lines ran up one side of the arch. The Doctor was running his hand up and down the stone, looking like a kid in a candy shop. "Where are we?" Jack asked, not really caring who answered.

Hermione stepped away from Harry and turned to look at Jack. "We're in the Veil of Death chamber," she replied. Pointing to the arch, she added, "That archway is the veil itself. Anyone who touches the veil is sent into the land of the dead." She looked sadly at Harry. "Wizards have been using it to execute people for eons," she explained. She didn't mention Sirius' name for fear of hurting Harry even more. During their last battle at the Ministry, Harry's godfather had been knocked through the veil, stripping away the last part of a loving family he had.

"Nonsense," the Doctor responded, not looking up from the circles etched into the stone. "These things might have been a bit dodgy even when they were new, but I wouldn't call it an execution machine," he muttered. The sound of wood breaking drew his attention to the far wall. The door leading out of the chamber bowed and then went back to normal as the Death eaters tried to break in. The Doctor ran his sonic screwdriver over the archway, looked at the readings, and then kicked the left side of the arch exactly two feet above the floor. "That should stabilize it for a bit," he muttered before turning to face the others. "It _should_be fine now," he shouted and then walked through the suspended liquid, dividing this world from another.

**Coast of England - 957 AD**

The Doctor wobbled back and forth as he looked over the edge of the cliff that stood some 60 meters above the sharp rocks on the shore below him. There was less than a foot between the arch and the sheer drop of the cliff. He felt a temporal disturbance behind him, so he sidestepped to allow the next person through. When Hermione appeared, the Doctor blocked her body with his arm to keep her falling off the cliff. Her image stuttered and then went back to looking like Hermione as the PHART shorted out. Hermione sidestepped to the other side of the arch and hung on to it with one hand while she peered over the edge.

The Doctor followed Hermione's example and looked over the edge. "I take back what I said about this not being a means of execution," he told her. "That's quite a drop," he added needlessly. His temporal senses flared again and he reached out his arm just as Ginny came running through. She started to slip off of the edge, but he pulled hard on her arm and dragged her to the side of the arch he was on.

Ginny looked over her shoulder and shouted, "It's OK Harry, just don't run through like I did."

The silvery liquid suspended in the arch flared again as Harry cautiously stepped through. He almost tripped off the cliff, but Hermione managed to grab the front of his robe and pull him to safety. "Thanks, 'Mione," Harry whispered.

As soon as Harry was clear, Jack came sailing out of the arch backwards, firing his old service revolver back into the veil. Jack never had a chance to try to regain his footing and fell to the rocks below. The Doctor leaned out over the drop once again and gave out a low whistle. "That looks painful," he muttered.

Harry held onto Hermione's arm and looked down at Jack's crumpled body on the sharp rocks below them. "I'm so sorry, Doctor. I know that Jack was a good friend of yours," he stated sympathetically.

"Don't worry about Jack. I'm sure he'll be up and about in no time," the Doctor replied. He looked from side to side, examining the cliff face. "I wonder how he's going to get back up here?" he mused.

Harry looked back down at Jack's still body. "I think he's dead, Doctor," he told him, trying to be gentle.

The Doctor looked down again as well. "Oh, most definitely. I doubt anyone could have survived a fall like that," he responded. "Don't worry, death is a temporary condition for Jack," he told Harry. The Doctor pulled himself back to the arch when energy started to arc across the silvery liquid. The liquid started to change colors rapidly, never staying on one color for more than a second. It finally stopped on black and then evaporated completely, leaving only air in the archway. The Doctor banged his head on the arch twice in frustration. "Why didn't I think of that?" he chastised himself.

Hermione stepped away from the edge of the cliff and looked at her boyfriend through the now empty arch. "Think of what, Doctor?" she inquired.

The Doctor looked at her through the arch. "This old relic is a Temporal Arch," he told her. "Before my people developed the Vortex mechanics that led to the creation of the TARDISes, they experimented with several other modes of Time travel," he explained. "The chronal circuits couldn't cope with something as impossible as Jack," he concluded.

The Doctor's explanation of ancient Gallifreyan technology was interrupted when they heard the angry shouts of a mob coming from a short distance away. After a moment, five children raced over a hill, running as if their lives depended on it. The small group of kids was made up of two boys and three girls. The largest boy was already as tall as the Doctor, but still had a baby face. His hair was flaming red. The other boy was much shorter and had very large ears and dark hair, giving him the overall look of a pale monkey. The largest girl looked so much like the largest boy, they had to be siblings. As for the other two girls, one was willowy thin with black hair while the other was pudgy with orange colored hair. An angry mob complete with torches and pitchforks were gaining on the children.

"Doctor… you don't think those kids are…?" Hermione tried to ask, stunned by what she saw.

The Doctor scowled at the mob chasing the kids. "Yes, Hermione, those are the Founders and I think they need a hand," he said angrily. The group of kids split up when the young Godric Gryffindor pointed towards a forest not too far away. Godric, Gertrude, and Salazar broke off to the left while Rowena and Helga went right.

The Doctor spared a glance down at Jack and saw he was still not moving. "Jack will have to catch up with us later," he muttered. He pointed to the left and said, "Harry, you and Ginny go help the Gryffindors and Salazar." He took Hermione's hand and stated, "Hermione and I will go help the girls."

The Doctor and Hermione ran after the two Founder girls, paralleling them through the woods. While running, they came across a wide lake with a high shore. The path they were on was a good five feet above the chilly water of the lake. Hermione lost her footing when the edge of the path gave way under her weight. She fell into the lake with a splash. When she surfaced, she spat out some water and pointed to where she could see Rowena and Helga. "They're over there on the other side of that cove," she told the Doctor. "I'll swim across and meet you on the other side," she said and ducked back down into the water. The Doctor nodded and tried to pick out a way through the underbrush to catch up with Hermione had a much shorter distance to travel.

Rowena and Helga slid to a stop when they reached the rocky beach. The sounds of the mob made Rowena turn around and maneuver herself between the men seeking their deaths and her friend Helga. She tightened her grip on her friends arm when she saw the evil smile on the lead man's face.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" the ugly man in peasant's clothes asked rhetorically. "Looks like you two witches have run out of places to run to," he scoffed. "Before we burn you two in the town square, I think we'll have a bit of sport," he said with a leer. The rest of the men in his half of the mob had caught up with him and joined his evil laugh.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Hermione yelled, her voice full of cold fury. She stood up out of the lake, water dripping from her strange clothes. She drew her wand, gave it a good swish and flick, and whispered, "**_Wingardium Leviosa!_**" A large ball of water about the size of a wrecking ball sprung out of the lake and rocketed towards the mob's leader. The man was knocked off his feet and thrown into a tree, knocking him out.

A second peasant pointed at Hermione with a shaking finger. "The Lady of the Lake!" he shrieked and took a step away from the shore. The other mob members muttered nervously and likewise stepped away from the legendary woman.

Hermione smiled at the men, but her smile held no warmth. "How nice to be recognized," she told them. Her time spent at the Burrow with Fred and George had taught her a thing or two about timing. She waited a moment and then said sweetly, "If you know who I am, then you must know who the man I love is."

The mob members looked at each other, dread in their eyes. Everyone knew the stories of the Lady and her lover, the King's wizard. The Doctor stepped out from behind a tree and tapped one of the men on the shoulder. "Hello, I'm Merlin. What's your name?" he inquired politely. The man screamed in terror and the mob broke up, the men scattering to the wind. The Doctor looked at the young witches. "Was it something I said?" he asked with a wink.

**********DrW**********

Salazar tripped on a tree root and twisted his ankle. From the ground he looked up at his friends. "Go on, don't let them catch you!" he commanded.

"Not bloody likely," Godric growled and turned to face the mob that was descending on them. There was no way he was going to leave Salazar behind, even if that meant he and his sister would die with him. Gertrude nodded in ascent and stood shoulder to shoulder with her brother, shielding Salazar.

Seemingly from out of nowhere, a young man dressed in robes with red and yellow accents came charging out of the forest. A pretty red headed woman was stride for stride with him, also wearing red and gold, the Gryffindor family colors. "_** Impedimenta!**_" the young man shouted, pointing a wand at the front row of the mob. A man in the middle suddenly tripped, causing several others to trip as well. The young man stepped in front of the Gryffindor siblings facing the mob, his wand at the ready.

The young woman stood by his side and raised her wand so it pointed over the mob members' heads. "_**Incendio**_!" she incanted, sending a gout of fire streaming towards the sky. The mob wisely chose to cease their advancement.

An uneasy silence fell over the forest while the mob tried to decide if it had enough members to take on a fully trained wizard and witch. Their minds were made up for them when they heard something crashing through the forest towards them. A jet black horse jumped over a shrub and landed in between Harry and the mob. Atop the war horse was a knight dressed in black armor. Instead of sword, he held a large oak staff that was capped in silver on the end. The knight slammed his staff into the ground, causing a sound like a huge church bell ringing. "In the name of the King, I command you to return to your village!" he shouted. The mob knew they were definitely no match for a knight as well as a pair of magic users. They turned and fled into the forest, many of them dropping their weapons.

The knight watched the peasants run and slid off of his horse. He bent down and picked up a pitchfork that had been dropped. "Torches and pitchforks… I guess you can't beat the classics," he muttered before turning to face the wizards he had sensed. As soon as the knight was facing Harry, he dropped to his knees in shock. "It can't be… how?" he stammered.

Harry recognized the knight's voice, but was too scared to hope that he was right. The Black Knight reached up and removed his helmet, letting his long, black hair fall out. Tears were streaming down his face as he looked at his godson. "Sirius!" Harry shouted, tears of joy running down his own face as he ran to embrace his godfather.


	8. Chapter 8

Godric looked behind him at Salazar who just shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea what was going on either. They had heard rumors of one of the King's knights being a powerful wizard, but they had never expected to come face to face with him. They also never imagined that other wizards and witches would be willing to risk their lives to save theirs. Godric turned his attention to the red headed witch and the two wizards who were laughing and crying in relief.

Ginny gave Harry and Sirius a few moments before politely coughing. Sirius let go first and looked over at Ginny and then at Harry. "So, did you finally noticed the obvious?" he asked Harry with a smirk.

Ginny stepped forward and took Harry's hand. "It took a little prodding, but yes, he figured out I liked him," she replied for Harry.

Sirius leaned forward to Harry and whispered loud enough for Ginny to hear, "Don't lose this one, she special."

It was Harry's turn to smirk. "Sirius, you have absolutely no idea how right you are," he laughed.

Harry stood up and helped the armored man up as well. A huge grin broke out on his face. "There's so much to tell you. Remus and Tonks got married and are expecting a child," he told his godfather. If possible, Harry's grin got larger. "I can't wait to see Ace's face when we show up with you," he blurted out.

Instead of the smile Harry was expecting, he saw Sirius' expression grow sad. The old Maurader shook his head. "Dammit! I must have hit my head in battle and now I'm having a very vivid dream," he muttered.

Ginny smiled at Sirius. "You're not dreaming, Sirius. This is all real," she told him.

"Reality?" he spat at Ginny angrily. "Harry - the real Harry - is back in my own time, Ace is dead, and even though is a very brave man, Moony would never get up the courage to even ask Tonks out on a date!," he swore. Sirius continued to shake his head as he caught sight of someone walking towards them. The image of that man confirmed to him that this was all just a dream. "Not to mention there is absolutely no way Jack Harkness could be here," he insisted.

Harry's mouth hung open we saw Jack approaching. Other than the fact the older man was brushing white limestone dust off of his trench coat, he looked none the worse for wear. Jack winked at him and then waved at Sirius. "Hey, Sirius, how's it going?" he asked politely as if seeing someone out of their normal Timestream was something to be expected. "Trust me, Sirius. This is real. If it were a dream, I'd be naked," he informed him with a suggestive wink. This caused Sirius to chuckle and then look closer at those around him.

Harry was having a difficult time processing things. Not only was Jack walking around after falling to his death, he seemed to know his godfather. "You two know each other?" Harry inquired.

Jack beamed his usual megawatt smile. "Ace brought him to one of the 'company' Christmas parties," he replied. "She made me promise to keep my hands to myself," he told Harry.

Sirius started to chuckle at the memory. "And after seeing how you were smiling, she made you promise to keep the rest of your anatomy to yourself as well," he laughed. His brow furrowed in confusion. "What is going on here?" he wondered aloud.

Ginny stepped forward again and put her hand on Sirius' cheek. Without warning, she lifted her hand away and slapped him hard. Godric, Gertrude, and Salazar flinched at the audacity of striking a knight. "Did that feel like a dream?" she asked sweetly.

Sirius took off one of his metal gauntlets and rubbed his cheek. "No," was all he said in response.

Ginny smiled at him, kindness evident in her eyes. "Ace is alive and will be overjoyed to see you again," she promised him, her voice soft. When Sirius didn't reply, she went on. "Her Time hopper took a direct hit to its temporal engine core and threw her 16 years into the future," she told him. "She arrived a month after you went through the veil," she relayed to him. Sirius walked shakily to his to horse his grabbed a wineskin. He took a long drink as he thought about what she had said. He still wasn't quite sure if this was reality or just a dream. "I hate to add to how unreal things seem, but..." Ginny started to say. She stepped up to Sirius and whispered something in his ear.

Sirius spit out a mouthful of wine violently and spun around to look at the children the mob had been chasing. He stared at the tall boy until recognition dawned on him. Turning to look at Ginny, he became very somber. "The villages aren't safe for them. We must take them to Camelot as quickly as possible," he told her. He looked back at the children and noticed Salazar was standing only because he was leaning on Godric for support. "I can't believe I'm actually going to do this," he muttered softly to himself. "Come on, Salazar, you can ride my horse," he said as if the words tasted sour on his tongue. He helped the monkey faced boy onto the back of his war horse.

"My... my lord, it is forbidden for a peasant to ride a knight's horse," Salazar stammered from atop the war horse. He looked back at Gertrude and added, "Besides my lord, it would be more proper for a lady to ride than me," he said with conviction.

Sirius was completely taken aback. He had not expected the Founder of Slytherin house to not only be respectful , but also chivalrous. Motioning Gertrude over, her picked her up and sat her behind Salazar. Despite it feeling very unnatural, Sirius found himself smiling at Salazar. "You can ride if the knight in question orders you to do so, and Snape here can easily carry you both," he told him.

Harry ran his hand down the side of the huge horse's neck. "Why would you name your horse after Snape," he asked, bitterness evident in his voice.

Sirius grinned and swatted the horse playfully on the rump. "This monster was the most mean spirited, foul tempered beast in the stables. The name just seemed to fit," he replied. With a grin he added, "Besides, I always thought Severus was a horse's ass."

While Sirius was helping the children onto his horse, Ginny had dug out her Order coin and made contact with Hermione's coin. The image in the coin went from a golden representation of a phoenix to a small picture of Hermione, who appeared to be soaking wet. "Godric and the others are safe," she reported. With a frown she inquired, "Why are you dripping wet, 'Mione?"

Hermione squeezed some water out of hair before responding. "I fell into a lake," she told her. Ginny smirked at the irony. "Rowena and Helga are safe as well," Hermione informed her friend.

Ginny looked over her shoulder and then back into the coin. "'Mione, Sirius is alive. He's a knight now," she said excitedly. "He's a little shell shocked, so perhaps we should wait a while before dropping any more bombshells on him," she suggested. "We're headed for Camelot," she informed Hermione. "Does your... boyfriend... remember how to get there?" she asked, not wanting to be overheard mentioning the name her father used during this time period.

Hermione looked over at the Doctor who was listening in on the conversation. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned for the specific frequency of energy Excalibur gave off. He nodded his head when he got a lock on the unique blade. "He says yes, but I'll keep a flare spell ready in case we get lost," she teased. Ginny watched Hermione look to the side, grin, and then stick her tongue out. Hermione looked back into her coin. "We'll meet you at Camelot," she promised.

**********DrW**********

Ginny stood next to Harry and Sirius at the top of a small hill that overlooked the city and castle of Camelot. Her breath was taken away at the sight of the fabled citadel. Red pennants emblazoned with a black dragon snapped in the slight breeze. Sunlight reflected off of the silver capped towers that rose majestically above the rest of the castle. Even from this distance, Ginny and Harry could feel the magic that emanated from the keep.

Sirius took in a deep, calm breath. "I felt the same way when I first saw Camelot," he told them. "The castle is enchanted with old, powerful magic that I don't even pretend to understand," he said reverently. "The castle itself is a reflection of the King's character," he informed them. "Arthur really is like the stories say - kind, brave, and loyal to his people. He's a man I proudly serve," Sirius said. He led them into the city, watching in amusement as the young Founders as well as his godson looked at everything in awe. He couldn't put his finger on it, but Sirius felt there was something different about Ginny. She looked like she was enjoying herself, but wasn't nearly in awe as much as the others. _It almost seems like she's seen wonders far beyond what Camelot has to offer,_he thought.

Once inside the castle, Sirius led them to main hall where the King held court. He motioned for them to stay near doors and then strode into the room where Arthur was holding court. Harry stared at the King once he recognized the tall, blond man dressed in nice, but plain clothes sitting on the throne. The last time he had seen him was in a painting at Hogwarts after the knight in question had ruffed up some of the other paintings near the Gryffindor common room.

A beautiful woman with long brown hair and a small gold circlet on her head stood behind the throne. She wore a flowing white gown that gave her the appearance of an angel who fell to earth. She rested one slender hand on the back of her husband's throne. Ginny watched as the woman slowly looked over each of the newcomers, drinking in every detail. From the intelligence that flashed behind her eyes, Ginny was sure Guinevere was much more than a pretty decoration for court.

Arthur stepped down from his throne and walked a few steps to greet his knight. "What have you to report, Black knight?" Arthur inquired.

Sirius bowed his head before answering. "My liege, it is as we feared. The villages are turning against the magic users for some reason. Even Bretton turned against their hedge wizard," he said sadly.

Arthur furrowed his brows in confusion. "The people of Bretton loved their wizard. For as long as I can remember, they have been proud that one of their own not only became a wizard, but chose to return to his village and help wherever and whenever he could," he stated. "None of these uprisings make any sense!" he swore. Arthur seemed to notice the people standing in the doorway for the first time. "Forgive my rudeness, Black knight. I have not allowed you to introduce the guest you have brought to Camelot," he said graciously.

Sirius motioned for the children to come forward. "My king, these children are gifted with magic and were driven from their villages," he said formally. "They are magicians of staggering potential," he stated. The way he said it let Arthur know there was much more to the story. "Godric, Gertrude, Salazar, I present you to our king, Arthur Pendragon," he said with a bow. The children bowed deeply as well, in shock at standing before the King. "My lord, on behalf of these children and two others who I'm told are coming, I ask sanctuary within the court," he requested formally.

Arthur smiled wide at the children. "I'm sure we can find positions for them here at court... as long as they continue with their studies of the arcane arts," he offered. "Since my personal wizard seems to be here far less often than he is away, it always good to have others around to pick up the slack. I'm sure you will find his library very educational," he promised. Arthur made a shooing motion with his hand and the children went to stand along the wall.

Sirius took in a deep breath and gestured for Jack to step forward. "My liege, this man is a warrior from where I am from. The crown there has seen fit to entrust him with the safety of our isle when it comes to... monsters from far, far away," he stated, not really sure how to describe what Jack and Ace did for a living. "His name is Captain Jack Harkness," he said.

Jack knelt on one knee before King Arthur. "It is a true honor to meet you, your Highness," he told the king. For once, Jack had left his charm at a mere mortal level.

"Welcome to my kingdom, Captain Harkness," Arthur told Jack. "We could always use fine military commanders in our army," he suggested.

Jack stood slowly, a small smile on his lips. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I already sworn my services to another _Lord_until the end of time," he responded.

Arthur nodded his head in acceptance. "Loyalty is a precious commodity, Captain. I hope your lord is worthy," he said.

Without hesitation, Jack responded, "He is." Arthur nodded again and indicated Jack should step aside. Jack bowed once more and stood next to the children.

Sirius waved Ginny forward. "My king, I am proud to present to you Miss Ginerva Weasley, a witch of incredible strength both in magical powers and in character," he boasted. Ginny curtsied once she stood in front of Arthur. Sirius looked behind him and nodded to Harry. "And this my liege, is my godson, Harry Potter," he said, every syllable bursting with pride.

Arthur had been looking over the two magicians but sharply looked over to Sirius. "Is he the one you told me about?" he asked, surprised at the young man's arrival. Sirius' look of joy was all the answer Arthur needed. "Step forward, Sir Harry," Arthur ordered.

Harry stepped in front of the king and bowed low. With his head still bowed he said, "Forgive me, your Highness, but it's just Harry."

Arthur took an angry step towards Harry. "Are trying to tell me that my... " he started to say descendants, but changed his mind considering there were several in court who didn't know about Sirius being from the future. "That those who rule where you are from couldn't have been bothered to bestow knighthood on you after everything you have done to protect the people?" he demanded.

Harry was frightened by the anger behind the King's words. "Your Highness, I'm sure they are very busy and..." he started to say but was cut off by an angry hand wave from Arthur.

"No monarch is too busy to acknowledge those who have served the people bravely, risking their very lives against odds that would make a normal man soil themselves," Arthur countered. "Especially when the person fighting evil has done so since they were a mere 11 years old," he added. Sirius smiled when he realized what Arthur was doing. Many had heard his stories about Harry's exploits and now Arthur was giving a very brief recap for those who hadn't. Sirius took a few steps back and pulled Ginny with him. "This is an outrage!" Arthur bellowed. "An injustice that I will not let go unanswered!" he promised.

Arthur spun on his heel and stormed back to his throne. He reached for a scabbard hanging off of the arm of the high backed throne. With a motion that spoke of years of practice, Arthur freed his sword, Excalibur. Arthur kept his back to Harry while he ordered, "Harry Potter, kneel before the throne." Harry did as he was commanded and knelt behind Arthur, his head bowed in humility.

Arthur turned around and made eye contact with Sirius. Ginny saw the quick wink and her hearts felt like they were going to burst with pride for her boyfriend. Arthur redirected his attention to the brave, young man kneeling before him. "Harry Potter, do you swear to protect the people of this kingdom with your life if neccessary?" he asked.

Harry looked up in shock, unable to believe what was happening. He saw Guinevere mouth the word, "yes." Harry swallowed hard. "Yes... yes, your Highness," he replied.

Arthur's face was still a stone mask of seriousness. "Do you vow to be a vessel of both my justice and my mercy throughout the land?" he asked.

Harry squared his shoulders. "Yes, your Highness," he replied again.

Arthur already knew the answer to the next question, but he had to ask to make things official. "Will you devote your life to pursuing and destroying evil wherever it may be found?" he inquired solemnly.

Fire burnt behind Harry's eyes and he replied with conviction, "Until I draw my last breath, your Highness!"

Arthur smiled at Harry's choice of words. He raised Excalibur and placed the flat of the blade on Harry's left shoulder and then his right. "BY your answers, I believe you to be a man worthy of this hall. Rise, Sir Harry, knight of Camelot," Arthur said proudly. As he spoke, Harry could feel an old magic wrapping itself around him and sealing the bond between a knight and his liege.

As Harry stood, the hall was filled with clapping and shouts of congratulations from the other knights who swarmed forward. Each of the knights took a turn slapping him on the back and welcoming him to their fellowship. Unlike other members of court, they had all heard Sirius' stories, and if even half of what he said was true, the knights were proud to count Harry as one of them.

The cheers quieted down and only one person remained clapping. Arthur looked over to the door and saw two girls standing between a young witch who was oddly familiar and a man dressed in very strange clothes who was still clapping. Guinevere recognized the young woman, walked to the fireplace, and sat down on a stool. She picked up a needlework frame and slowly turned it around in her hand, as if she were trying to decide where to pick up again. Her movements stopped and she looked up to meet her husbands eyes. The slightest of smiles told Arthur what he needed to know.

Arthur clapped his hands once to get every one's attention. "Ah, I see we have another applicant for court jester," he announced. He walked towards the Doctor. "I must say, your choice in fool's costume is quite interesting. I've seen many different fools who have applied for the opening, but none of them were dressed as ridiculously as you," he told him.

The Doctor was slightly stunned. "What? What do you mean? I look good. Bow ties are cool!" he sputtered, defending himself.

Arthur spun around to look at the court. "Not bad, already he starts with the jokes," he told them. Arthur turned back around to look at the Doctor. "Before you proceed with another joke, I must in all fairness tell you of the wages. You will have a spot to sleep in by the kitchens, the left overs from our tables to eat, and I promise to keep the beatings to a minimum," he offered.

The Doctor's face was one of total outrage. He opened his mouth to speak, but he was too angry to say anything. Arthur spun around quickly and bent over, suddenly overcome with a bad case of the giggles. He waved his hand at his wife. "I can't do it! I can't go on... you know I'm rubbish with this sort of thing," he laughed. Arthur took in a deep breath and fought to regain control. When he was certain he could look at the strangely dressed man with out laughing, he faced him once more, a huge smile on his face. Arthur held his arms out wide to embrace his old friend, one who had been absent from court for far too long. "Welcome home... Merlin!" he bellowed as he hugged the Doctor.

The great hall became quiet as the children each dropped to one knee in respect for the King's wizard. Then every thing erupted as the knights cheered again, this time in joy at having Merlin back. Guinevere stood up and walked towards her husband and their friends. "It really is impolite to show up looking younger than you did the last time you were here," she teased. She took Hermione's hands in her own. "Lady of the Lake, be welcome as always in Camelot," she said formally.

Sirius was in shock. Harry put his hand on his godfather's shoulder. "We'll explain later," he promised.

Several of the younger knights had noticed the lack of a wedding band on Ginny's finger and flocked around the attractive young woman. Harry was going to step in, his alpha male instincts overriding his more sensible nature, but the Doctor's voice carried through the hall. "Ah, I see you've met my daughter, Ginny," he told Arthur. The young knights all took a hurried step back from the wizard's daughter, not wanting to draw his ire.

Arthur looked from Ginny to the Doctor and then back again in shock. Sirius was beyond numb. An older knight with dark hair leaned over to Jack. "Merlin has a daughter? I'm not sure who I'm more worried for, us or the minions of darkness," he joked.


	9. Chapter 9

After the Doctor's announcement that Ginny was his daughter, the great hall of Camelot became very quiet. Harry took the opportunity to step next to Ginny and take her hand in his, letting the rest of the knights know where their relationship stood. That simple display of public affection did more to cement Harry's reputation as being recklessly brave than any story Sirius might have told.

King Arthur shook his head in amusement and glanced over at Hermione. She looked just slightly older than the ginger girl Merlin had claimed as his daughter. After doing some quick math, he glanced at Guinevere who just shrugged her shoulders slightly. Arthur sighed loudly and then looked over at his old friend. "Merlin, it seems much has transpired since you were last here. You can fill me in on all of the details while everyone else prepares for a feast tonight," he told him. Arthur looked around the great hall, making eye contact with as many people as possible. "A feast to welcome home two old friends," he stated while gesturing towards the Doctor and Hermione. "And to welcome new friends into our home," he proclaimed, gesturing towards the rest of the newcomers.

The Doctor walked past Arthur to stand next to Ginny. "Yes... yes, Arthur, that will be fine. However now that we have a free moment, I need to retrieve my TARDIS," he said.

Hermione followed the Doctor to Ginny's side. "How do you plan on doing that?" she inquired, curious to see how the Doctor was going to pull off this stunt.

The Doctor pointed towards Ginny's wrist. "Simple really," he stated. "I'll just borrow Ginny's Vortex manipulator, hop forward a little over 1,000 years, pick up the TARDIS, and hop right back to just after I left," he explained.

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest as Ginny took off her Manipulator and handed it to her father. "I know how well you 'drive'," Hermione reminded the Doctor. "No offense to the King or Queen, but I don't feel like spending six months to a year stuck in the tenth century," she told him.

The Doctor looked hurt by her words. He would have said something to defend himself if she hadn't been completely accurate in her assessment. He pointed to the Manipulator after he attached it to his wrist. "The Vortex Manipulators store the exact temporal coordinates of their last three jumps," he stated. "All I have to do is plug this into the old girl and she'll be able to land me within a second of when I left," he said. "Trust me. This will be the easiest trip I've ever made since the TARDIS and I stole each other so very long ago," he stated, trying to reassure his girlfriend. "Trust me. Not even I can mess up a plan this simple," he said with a wink before pressing the activation switch on the Vortex Manipulator. The Doctor disappeared with a loud crackle and a bit of sulfuric smelling smoke.

Jack sighed wearily. "I hate it when he says stuff like that," he muttered. The young Founders ignored Jack and just stared at where Merlin had been standing. Even at their young age, they knew that powerful transportation spells like that needed the help of a wand. Merlin had just demonstrated that not only he could do such a spell without one, but he didn't even need to speak an incantation.

A second loud crackle filled the great hall as the Doctor reappeared. His expression spoke of a great deal of frustration. "Does anyone remember where we parked?" he inquired sheepishly.

**********DrW**********

Laughter and music filled the great hall of Camelot as dozens of people sat at the tables that had been brought in for the banquet in Merlin's honor. The tables formed a ring around the center which had been left clear for the various entertainers looking to impress the King. Most of the people in the hall ignored the large blue box sitting in the corner of the room behind the King's throne. Those few who could actually see it knew it was Merlin's private abode.

Hermione excused herself from the head table when she saw Queen Guinevere step away and motion for her to follow. Guinevere led her to the fireplace where she kept her needlework. Picking up a very special one, she handed it to Hermione. The distinct outline of the TARDIS was stitched into the cloth with blue thread. Hermione turned the frame around in her hand as she had seen Guinevere do and saw that several different portraits were etched into the wood. She continued to turn the frame until she found the etching of her boyfriend. "Thank you for letting me borrow your diary," Guinevere told Hermione. "It's made identifying Merlin much easier," she stated.

Hermione handed the Queen back the needlework frame. "Diary? What diary?" she wondered aloud.

Guinevere did a double take and then looked closer at Hermione. "I just assumed you could alter your age just as Merlin does," she said. "It never occurred to me that you might actually be younger than the last time we met," she chuckled. "Have you two had your picnic at Asgard yet?" she politely asked, trying to figure out when this version of her friend was from.

"Asgard? As in home of the Norse gods?" Hermione replied, confused.

Guinevere let out a soft chuckle. "_That_ early on... interesting," the Queen stated. She laughed again. "There is so much I want to tell you, Lady of the Lake, but as you say... spoilers," she told the young woman with a wink.

The older man with dark hair who had spoken to Jack earlier walked up to the women who were arguably the two most powerful women in Camelot. "What are two up to?" he pondered aloud. "I hope it isn't a restructuring of the court, but if it is, I have a few suggestions for proper clothing to be worn," he said suggestively.

Guinevere rolled her eyes playfully and swatted the handsome knight on his rather firm backside. "I already know what your suggestions would be and I still say that the castle is too drafty to be wearing so little," she laughed. Guinevere put her hand on the knight's butt once again and shoved him in the direction of the other knights who were each trying to impress Harry and Ginny with stories of their exploits. "Off with you, Lancelot. We women folk have important things to discuss," she told him with mock seriousness. Lancelot bowed first to Guinevere and then to Hermione with equal levels of respect before walking back to the other knights.

Hermione fought to control her expressions. She had grown up on the legend of King Arthur and Camelot. She knew of the great love that Arthur and Guinevere shared, but also knew how Guinevere and the King's closest friend betrayed him by having an affair behind his back. Hermione hadn't kept as good of a hold on her expressions as she would have liked, because Guinevere started to laugh again.

"From the look on your face, it would seem that my affair with Lancelot is still widely known," she stated in a matter of fact way. Hermione looked down at the floor, not sure of what she should say. Guinevere put her hand on Hermione's shoulder and leaned in to the other woman's ear. "It's not what you think. The whole rumor of Lancelot and I sleeping together was Arthur's idea in the first place," she admitted.

"What?" Hermione gasped.

Guinevere moved her body so others wouldn't be able to read her lips. "The only thing the people love more than their King is a good scandal," she tried to explain. "Arthur came up with the idea as a way to protect his friend. He is willing to let his honor be sullied to protect Lancelot," she told Hermione. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Lancelot had wondered over to the equally handsome Captain Harkness. "While most of the knights accept Lancelot for who he is. There are many other members of court who wouldn't, no matter how brave and loyal he is," she sighed. She saw Hermione's brows wrinkle in confusion. "I don't know how things are where and when you come from, but around here, men who prefer the company of other men in their beds are not treated well," she whispered.

Hermione's eyes grew wide in shock. "You have got to be joking?" she blurted out. Glancing over Guinevere's shoulder, she added, "I feel sorry for the ladies of the court, a handsome man like that forever out of their reach."

Guinevere turned to look at Lancelot as well. "There are several of the younger maids who have eyes only for him," she chuckled. "Should we warn your dashing Captain?" she asked Hermione. The Queen was looking at her with some concern due to Lancelot finally making it to Jack's side. "I don't want there to be any bad feelings between your man and ours," she stated.

Hermione took in a startled gasp when she realized what was probably going to happen. "Oh god, I'll never be able to read those stories again the same way," she muttered. Hermione blushed at the thoughts that crept unbidden into her mind. "Um... no. I think Jack and Lancelot will get along _very_ well," she told Guinevere, leaving the older woman to make the inference on her own.

Guinevere was silent for a moment and then a conspiratorial smile spread across her face. "To be a fly on that wall..." she said with a naughty tone.

The Queen's smile was infectious and Hermione leaned in towards her. "Guinevere..." she chided.

Guinevere winked at Hermione, the Lady of the Lake. "Just because they're into men, doesn't change the fact that they're both very handsome specimens," she replied. Hermione laughed and the Queen led her back to the main table where the Doctor and Arthur were deep in conversation.

"When did these uprisings start?" the Doctor inquired.

Arthur leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. "There have always been small disturbances between the magical and the non-magical, but they have always been isolated incidents," he replied. "It has only been since I made the proclamation giving magical people and intelligent, magical creatures equal rights that the real problems started," he explained. "We have tried to find a common link between the villages that have rebelled - an instigator or trouble maker, but my spies have turned up nothing," he sighed wearily.

The Doctor looked over at the young Founders and watched them try dish after dish with wide eyes. He figured that it had been the first time in quite a while they had the opportunity to eat a full meal. "I don't like this, Arthur," he told his friend. "With your permission, I would like to visit Bretton and see what I can find out," he requested.

Arthur's shoulders visibly relaxed. "Thank you, Merlin," he sighed. "With you going to Bretton that will free up some of my knights to investigate the problems with our neighbors in the forests to the North," he stated. When Arthur saw the questioning look in the Doctor's eyes, he went on. "We have received reports of raiding parties from the villages striking at the non-human residents there," he explained.

The Doctor frowned deeply. On one hand, he desperately wanted to investigate what was going on in the village. On the other, it sounded like the forest dwellers could use his help as well. His frown faded when he saw the knights rolling with laughter at something Harry had said. "If you are dealing with magical creatures, it might be best to just send a magical contingent to the forest," he suggested. "I think Sirius, Harry, and Ginny can handle just about anything they find there," he said.

Arthur looked at Ginny. "Merlin, there is likely to be fighting in the forest. It's no place for a lady," he warned.

The Doctor chuckled and then yelled across the room, "Ginny, would you come here for a moment?"

Ginny excused herself from the knights' table and walked over to the Doctor. "What's up, Dad?" she inquired.

The Doctor jerked his head towards Arthur. "The King is worried about you traveling to the forest tomorrow because there might be fighting. I was wondering if you might like to give him a demonstration to show why you should go," he suggested.

Ginny smiled at the Doctor and then looked calmly at Arthur. "Your highness, if it pleases you," she said, her tone much like a pool shark reeling in a mark.

"Do you need anything for this 'demonstration'?" the King asked. He had the nagging feeling that he was missing something in this conversation.

Ginny looked to the clear area in the center of the room and shooed the musicians away. "If you would be so kind, your highness, I would ask that you pick three of your best knights and have them meet me here in the center," she requested. Almost as an afterthought she added, "They may bring their weapons if they choose."

As three of the younger knights found themselves pushed into the center of the room, the Doctor told Ginny, "Now remember, these are our friends. No permanent injuries, please." Ginny nodded with a sweet smile and then walked into the exact center of the room. She shook her head in disgust when she saw only one of them had taken her up on her offer and brought a weapon. He had grabbed a staff from a weapons rack.

Ginny slowly turned around and looked at the young knights. The one with the staff was standing opposite of the other two who were just smirking. "Ready when you are, lads," she taunted. When none of them moved, she rolled her eyes and then ran at the smirking knight on the left. Ginny came within an arm's reach of the knight before he registered she had moved. He was completely unprepared for her dropping to the ground and spinning around, her rear leg extended. The knight fell to the ground with a crash. Ginny stood up slowly and gave the other smirking knight a smile that spoke of carefully delivered pain and mayhem.

The standing, unarmed knight held out his hand behind him and snapped his fingers. His squire tossed him his sword over the crowd. The knight was forced to glance away from Ginny to catch his sword. He was relieved when the expected blows never landed. Instead, Merlin's daughter simply winked at him and then did a series of backflips toward the knight armed with the staff. On the last flip, Ginny turned her body so she was facing the poor soul on the other side of the improvised ring. The knight held out the staff in front of him, horizontal to the floor in an attempt to push Ginny away in case she continued flipping. Ginny was counting on this move and brought her right leg up in a graceful out-to-in crescent kick that turned into a dropping axe kick at its highest point. Her heal came down on the staff and drove through it, splitting it in two.

The knight facing Ginny stared down at his broken staff in disbelief. He never even saw the punch that broke his nose, stunning him even more. Ginny used his distraction to strip both pieces of wood out of his hands. She casually spun around and tapped the young knight behind the ear with the wood in her left hand. He dropped like a ragdoll, mercifully unconscious. Ginny completed her revolution and faced the remaining knight who swallowed hard.

The last knight took the offensive and ran at Ginny, bellowing a war cry that bounced off the stone walls. Ginny met him in the center and effortlessly parried his sword the side with her left stick and brought right one down hard on his sword arm, striking the medial nerve and causing his hand to go numb. Ginny brought her left stick back around and easily knocked the sword out of his lifeless hand. She followed through by stepping past him and hooking her right stick behind his knees and pulling back and upwards. The knight flew into the air and landed on his back. He blinked to clear the stars from his vision and found the jagged tip of one of the broken pieces of the staff resting against his Adam's apple.

Arthur slowly turned his head towards the Doctor, trying to keep his eyes on the young vessel of destruction his wizard had brought to Camelot. "Objection withdrawn, Merlin," he stated.

**********DrW**********

The Doctor and his companions met in the courtyard of Camelot just after dawn had broken over the eastern wall. Sirius had chosen to wear a shiny suit of black leather armor instead of his usual plate metal. In contrast to his friend, Lancelot was wearing his full suit of plate armor with his crest embroidered onto the tabard he wore over the armor. Harry, the Doctor, and Jack were dressed as they usually were. The last two to arrive were Hermione and Ginny. Ginny was dressed in an emerald green gown. A pair of young men's leggings just barely showed from underneath the hem of the dress. Hermione was dressed in a bright white dress with a crown of woven flowers sitting in her hair. Both of the young women looked a little embarrassed. Ginny broke away from Hermione and followed Sirius and Harry to a shed on the far side of the courtyard.

Hermione walked over to where a groom held a light brown mare ready for her. After she allowed herself to be helped into the saddle, she looked over at the Doctor who couldn't tear his eyes off of her.  
>Hermione gestured towards her dress with her free hand. "Last night Rowena and Helga informed Ginny and I that they had decided to become our ladies in waiting. Apparently, we didn't have a choice in the matter," she informed the Doctor. "Just like Rowena gave me no choice in what I was wearing today," she laughed. "She told me that as Merlin's Lady, I needed to dress to fit my station," she chuckled. The thought of being some sort of noble in King Arthur's court was too strange for her to really grasp.<p>

The Doctor rode his horse next to hers, still staring at her. "You look absolutely beautiful, Hermione," he whispered, his voice suddenly hoarse. Hermione felt her heart flutter at the Doctor's words. She leaned over towards him to steal a quick kiss, but the Doctor suddenly turned his horse and trotted off towards the gate. Hermione wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a mixture of fear and confusion in her boyfriend's eyes. She shrugged her shoulders and pulled her horse up next to Sir Lancelot's since Jack had maneuvered his horse next to the Doctor's.

The company rode in silence with a large gap between the lead horses and the ones Hermione and Lancelot rode. Jack couldn't stand the unnatural strain he felt between Hermione and the Doctor and decided to do something about it. "So Doc, aren't you going to ask me how my night was?" he suggested.

The Doctor turned his head to look at Jack, clearly horrified. "No… definitely not," he swore.

Jack ignored the Doctor and told him anyway. "I've got to tell you, Doc… Lancelot really lives up to his name," he said suggestively. The Doctor groaned at the horrible sexual pun. Jack leaned closer to the Doctor so only his friend could hear him. "So, how was your night with Hermione?" he inquired.

The Doctor cocked his head to the side, slightly put off by the question. "She went to the chambers Arthur and Guinevere had set up for her and I worked on some projects in the TARDIS," he stated.

Jack gave the Doctor an incredulous look. "You mean to tell me that you two didn't… you know…," he said suggestively.

The Doctor stared straight ahead, not looking at Jack. "That's none of your business, Jack," he replied angrily. His tone softened a bit and he added, "Besides, I want our first time to be special and I... um... might be, sort of out of practice."

Jack turned in his saddle and pointed back the way he came. "We… were… in… Camelot! Camelot for crying out loud! It doesn't get any more special than that, Doc!" he argued. Jack watched the Doctor seem to sag in on himself. "Doctor, I'm going to be straight with you… well, metaphorically speaking anyway… and I don't believe that's the real reason you two haven't done the horizontal TARDIS tango," he told his old friend.

The Doctor looked over his shoulder at Hermione for just an instant. He turned to look ahead again when she tried to meet his eyes. "You're right, Jack. There is more to it than that," he sighed. They rode on silently for a few moments before the Doctor spoke again. "A slip by one of my previous Companions has dropped the ultimate spoiler on me," he confided. Before Jack could ask what it was the Doctor whispered, "I know when and where I'm going to die."

Jack chuckled a bit. "And you're afraid the next version might not be into women, huh?" he teased playfully. His merriment fled when he saw the sad look in the Doctor's eyes.

"No, Jack. It's when I die for good- no regeneration, no cheating Death. It's during this current regeneration… and… River is there to see it," he said softly. Jack rocked back like he had been slapped. It had never occurred to him that there might be a time when the Doctor wasn't a part of the Universe. "I'm afraid if I get any closer to Hermione, it will only hurt her that much more when I die," he tried explain.

Jack's eyes narrowed in anger. "Not going to happen, Doctor!" he swore. "I don't care how many times I have to die. I'll get to whomever it is that is going to kill you and kill them first," he promised.

The Doctor gave Jack a half-hearted smile. "No you won't," he said simply. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't end up helping the person who does the actual killing," he added cryptically.

Jack shook his head dismissively. He loved the Doctor and would never do anything to hurt his best friend in all of Time and Space. He thought about what the Doctor had said and decided to try another approach. "You know… there was a time when I was really depressed after the death of Ianto and my grandson, Steven. Lucky for me, my best friend showed up in the nick of time to remind me that there were still things worth living for," he reminded the Doctor. The previous version of the Doctor had said his goodbyes to Jack by setting him up with a young space officer by the name of Alonso Frame.

The Doctor smiled at him. "I remember," he replied.

"It was only after I started to heal that I was able to look back on my relationship with Ianto," Jack told him. "The thing I regret most isn't the time I spent with him, it's all the time I wasted pushing him away," he stated. "I know River and therefore I know Hermione. I know she would feel the same way," he said. "Do you want her memories of you to be happy, or tainted with the fact that there could have been more of them if you hadn't been so afraid of getting her or you hurt?" he asked. "Doctor, that's what love is. It's opening yourself to another knowing they can hurt you more than anyone else and doing it anyway," he tried to explain.

The Doctor looked Jack in the yes. "I thought I was supposed to be the wise, ancient alien," he said.

Jack chuckled and shook his head. "In matters of love... not a chance. You need to leave that to the experts," he joked.

The Doctor reined his horse in a bit as he asked, "Will you excuse me, Jack?" Jack made eye contact with Lancelot and the knight broke his horse into a trot to switch places with the Doctor.

When the Doctor brought his horse up next to Hermione's he saw she was frowning. "Have I done something wrong?" she asked, desperately wanting to know.

Instead of speaking right away, the Doctor reached over, cupped the back of her head, and pulled her in for a passionate snog. When they finally came up for air, Hermione's mood was much improved. "The only thing you've done wrong is fall in love with a daft, old alien," the Doctor finally replied. Hermione let him know what she thought about that statement by kissing him again.

Jack and Lancelot made it a point to not look behind them as they rode the rest of the way to Bretton. The sly smiles the two men shared on occasion told the other they were thinking along the same lines. When they finally reached the village, the peasants made way for the King's right hand man, a young Lady, and two oddly dressed men. The Doctor and Hermione rode up closer to the other two, sensing danger.

"Any idea of what we should be looking for, Merlin," Lancelot asked the court wizard. The Doctor's silence unnerved the knight and forced him to turn around to look at him.

"Unfortunately, yes," the Doctor whispered. He was staring down a side street and pulling out a grease marker from his jacket. Acting like he was scratching his hand, the Doctor made a single tally mark. Jack was also staring down the side street, concern written all over his face. Suddenly the Doctor blinked and shook slightly, like he was waking up from a dream.

"What are we looking for, Merlin?" Lancelot repeated.

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't the foggiest notion, but I suspect we'll know it when we see it," he responded.

Lancelot was quite confused. "You just told me you knew what we were looking for… right before you started drawing on yourself," he stated, pointing at the Doctor's hand.

The Doctor's eyes darted down to the single black mark on his skin. "This is _very_ not good," he complained. Before the Doctor could go on, Jack said something that came as a complete shock to the Doctor.

Jack pointed at the now empty side street. "What the hell was that ugly son-of-a-bitch?" he inquired.


	10. Chapter 10

**Camelot, England – 957 AD**

From across the courtyard, Sirius watched the little dance the Doctor was performing in relation to Hermione. He shook his head in amusement as the Doctor's party rode out the gates to check on the village of Bretton. "It seems Merlin is almost as awkward around women as my godson," Sirius said just loud enough for Harry and Ginny to hear. Ginny started laughing and after a moment, Harry joined in.

"Dad has been alone for so long, I think he he's forgotten what to do in a romantic relationship," Ginny explained to Sirius. She gave Harry a quick kiss to show Sirius she didn't suffer from the same handicap. It was Sirius' turn to chuckle.

Sirius led Harry and Ginny to a small stone shed and opened the door by pointing his staff at it and muttering, "**_Alohomora_**." The door sprang open showing several broomsticks leaning against the far wall. "Since it's just going to be us, I thought we could take the fast way," he said proudly. "They're no Firebolts, but they work a bit better than the training brooms Hogwarts provided," he stated. "I had to go all the way to Jordan to find a wizard who knew how to enchant broomsticks. He gave me these for free after I made some suggestions on how to get more speed and stability out of the ones he had been making," he confided. Ginny decided not to bring up temporal paradox when she remembered reading that a broom enchanter in Jordan had made a revolutionary leap forward around 996 AD.

The three of them each chose a broom and walked out of the shed. They were met by King Arthur, Godric, and Salazar. The boys were dressed like squires in their family colors - Godric in flashy red and gold and Salazar in black and green. Godric was holding a bundle wrapped in cloth in front of him proudly. The King motioned for Harry to step closer. "I take pride in making sure my knights are well equipped," he told Harry. Arthur gestured towards the boys. "Every knight needs a squire and I think these lads would do quite well considering the abilities you all share," he stated. Salazar stepped forward and stood next to Sirius, a smile on the young man's face. In response, Sirius smiled back and put his hand on the Future Founder's shoulder. Harry and Ginny watched in shock and had to shake their heads to clear them.

Arthur watched the byplay and made a note to ask the Black Knight about it later. He reached over to Godric and took the bundle. The cloth fell away to reveal a sword with a thin, gleaming blade. Blood red rubies were mounted at the ends of the crossguard and the pommel. Harry and Ginny recognized the sword in an instant. Almost against his will, Harry stepped forward and took the sword that would later save his life when he battled the basilisk. He turned it slightly and the perfect blade reflected the morning sun. Godric stepped forward and belted the scabbard around Harry's waist.

"I won this sword in a card game with the Goblin King," Arthur boasted. "He told me that when I finally decided which of my knights to give it to, he would have its maker engrave the owner's name on the blade," he said.

Ginny tried to hide her grin as she looked at the sword. Harry caught her eye and winked. They both knew who the true owner would end up being. Harry sheathed the sword and mounted his broom stick which hovered in the air. Ginny and Sirius mounted their brooms a split second behind him. Godric smiled for a bit and then frowned as he asked Harry, "Where do I sit my lord?"

After a fruitless argument with Godric and Salazar, the two knights agreed to bring the boys along. On the flight to the forest, Godric sat behind Harry, shouting in glee. The red haired boy held out his hands, trying to touch the clouds they were passing through. In contrast, Salazar was holding onto Sirius with a death grip.

Salazar peeked out from behind Sirius' back and instantly regretted it. Ginny was doing barrel rolls around them, teasing her boyfriend. "I think I'm going to be sick," Salazar moaned.

"Not on my bloody armor you won't!" Sirius shouted back. To help ease Salazar's stomach he gently descended out of the clouds so they could see the horizon. Ahead of them lay what would eventually be referred to as the Forbidden Forest. Ginny dove out of the clouds at an alarming speed and then pulled up next to Sirius. Harry wasn't far behind her. The three older magic users scanned the forest for any signs of danger. Sirius pointed down to the western edge of the forest. "Looks like the villagers are at it again," he shouted over the wind. Harry and Ginny nodded and the three of them raced towards the villagers, earning them a moan from Salazar and another whoop of joy from Godric.

They were almost to the village mob when Harry suddenly broke formation and dove towards another section of the forest. "Harry?" Sirius shouted after his godson.

Ginny moved to intercept Sirius before he could follow Harry. "Harry's the best seeker the school has ever had," she reminded Sirius. "He must have seen something we missed," she told him. "If Harry didn't think he could manage it by himself, he would have told us to follow him," she stated. "Let's take care of the villagers and then catch up with him," she suggested.

Sirius ground his teeth in frustration, but nodded anyway. "He's as reckless as his father ever was," he muttered. With his free hand, he pointed towards an area of the forest about half a kilometer in front of the advancing mob. "Let's land there and cut them off," he told Ginny.

Ginny happily agreed formed up on Sirius' left side. Sirius and Ginny put their brooms into a steep dive and pulled up at the last moment to avoid hitting the forest floor. Sirius hopped off his broom just in time to avoid Salazar's vomit. "Take the broom and hide behind those trees over there," he instructed Salazar who nodded weakly. Once Salazar was safely hidden, Sirius pulled out his staff and planted the end of it in the dirt. Ginny drew her wand and stood shoulder to shoulder with Padfoot. They didn't have to wait long before the leading edge of the mob made it through the thick underbrush to stand in front of them. Sirius sneered at the filth encrusted man the others looked at when they saw the Black Knight blocking their way.

"Stand aside _knight_. This doesn't concern you!" the leader shouted. Several of his men shouted in agreement. The mob simply ignored Ginny.

Sirius held up his staff and pointed it the mob. "This forest has been given to the magical creatures of Britain. Villagers are forbidden from entering here without the consent of the King!" he shouted. "Since it was the King who sent me to stop you, I doubt you have received his permission," he said coldly. "Therefore, I judge that you are trespassing on the King's land and must leave at once or face the consequences," he warned.

The mob leader matched Sirius' sneer. "There are 3 score of us and but one wisp of a girl and a wizard to stop us!" he shouted back, making the last word "wizard" like a slur. "Now if the king had sent Merlin to stop us, we might have had to reconsider. As it is, you two don't scare us!" he challenged.

Sirius looked over at Ginny rolled his eyes, causing her to giggle. He pointed his staff directly at the leader and whispered, "**REDUCIO BRACCAE**." Sirius smiled as the spell he had perfected on a young Severus Snape caused the leaders leggings to shrink dramatically, especially in the crotch area.

The leader's hands went to his groin and his eyes rolled back into his head as he toppled over. "Kill them, you fools!" he squeaked. He thrashed around on the ground, trying to remove the constricting clothing. The more he struggled, the tighter the leggings became.

"My turn," Ginny stated with a smile before running to meet the mob head on. As soon as a villager was in reach, she grabbed him by the wrist, planted his hand on her hip, and stepped backwards and to the side. The villager was yanked off of his feet and thrown into a tree. His bloody face slid down the tree, leaving a couple of teeth embedded in the bark. Ginny continued turning and struck out with her left foot at another villager who had made the wrong choice in advancing on her. A loud, painful pop was heard by everyone as she dislocated his knee.

When the rest of the villagers wisely gave her plenty of space, she smiled at them. Many of the men would take that frightening image to their graves. Ginny pointed her wand where the villagers were packed tightly and shouted, "_** TEMPESTIA FRIGIDUM!**_"

The front rank of the mob was knocked off their feet and tossed around like ragdolls by the sudden howling, artic wind. The mob members still standing were only able to make out Ginny's emerald green dress and flaming red hair through the impromptu blizzard. A frightened villager pointed at her and yelled over the wind, "The sorcerer has called a flame haired demon to assist him! We must fall back to the church to gather the holy relics to fight her!" He bent down and helped his fallen leader to his feet. Due to the leader not being able to walk without further damage to his family jewels, a second villager came forward and helped carry him out of the forest.

When the last villager fled from sight, Sirius walked up next to Ginny, slightly disturbed by how easily she handled the men. "Harry lets you win most of your arguments, doesn't he?" he asked her.

Ginny smiled sweetly at Sirius as she turned around to find her broom. "Of course he does," she replied.

"Smart boy," Sirius remarked.

**********DrW**********

Motion in a clearing drew Harry's attention as they raced towards the villagers. He saw a huge, three headed ogre advancing on a centaur colt who had an arrow sticking out of his left flank. The ogre was at least ten meters tall and wearing a grubby kilt made from all different types of skins. Without warning, Harry changed directions and dove to the clearing.

"Look what we have here, Snot," the first ogre head said to the second.

"It looks like a tasty treat, Phlegm," the second head replied.

The third head shook in dismay. "Will you two quick blabbering and help me kill it all ready," it told the other two. "Every time you two start going on like this, our dinner gets away!" he complained.

"Oh shut up, Wart," the first head replied. "The colt has an arrow sticking out of 'em. It's not like he's going to be able to run very fast," he countered.

Harry came in fast and slid sideways above the ground to scrub off momentum. The ogre took a step back in surprise. "See, what did I tell you? Every bloody time…," the third head moaned and rubbed his face with the arm he controlled.

Harry jumped off the broomstick and let it carry Godric a bit farther out of the ogre's range. He ran to stand over the young centaur and pulled out his wand. Pointing his wand at the ogre, he yelled, "**_PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!_**" A blast of magic energy played over the ogre's body and then faded away.

The first head ran his hand over his chest mockingly. "That tickled a bit," he chuckled.

Harry cursed himself for forgetting the fact that ogres were impervious to hexes. He had only skimmed that chapter once he learned ogres were extinct by his time and therefore wouldn't be a threat to him or his friends. Harry drew the sword Arthur had given him and tried to look intimidating. He realized it wasn't working when all three heads smiled at him while it uprooted a tree to use as a make-shift club. "Bugger!" Harry cursed as he ducked and rolled under the tree as it swung through the space he had recently occupied.

"Stop moving! I hate it when my dinner moves," the second head shouted.

"He's on your side, Phlegm!" the third head warned the first. Harry had finished his roll and knelt next to the ogre's left foot. He adjusted his grip on the sword and drove the sword into the monster's big toe.

"OOOOuch!" the first head screamed. It let go of its end of the tree and picked up its foot to get it away from the little human with the painful stinger.

The sudden shifting of the weight of the tree and only standing on one foot caused the ogre to fall onto its back and let go of the tree completely. Remembering back to his first year at Hogwarts, Harry drew his wand and pointed it at the tree. "**_WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!_**" he shouted. The tree rose into the air and pivoted so it was perpendicular to the fallen ogre. Harry had the tree rise into the air for a little while longer before letting it fall. The tree struck all three heads across the bridge of their noses, knocking them out.

Harry waited a moment to make sure the ogre was truly out before racing over to the injured centaur. Godric walked slowly into the clearing, awestruck. "Sir Harry, that was amazing!" he cheered. "You weren't afraid at all," he gushed.

Harry looked over his shoulder as he walked over to the centaur. "Are you kidding me?" he asked rhetorically. "I was terrified," he admitted. Harry watched Godric as he tried to figure out what Harry was saying. Without thinking, Harry recited the words etched into the stone above the doorway leading out of the Gryffindor common room, "True courage isn't the lack of fear, it's acknowledging you're afraid and doing what needs to be done in spite of it." He knelt next to the colt and placed his sword on the ground next to him, letting the colt know he wasn't there to hurt him. Harry looked him over for any other injuries other than the arrow sticking out of his hind quarter. The dark hair of his equine half was matted in several places with blood, but there were no other serious wounds.

Harry pulled out a vial containing a thick, red fluid. Since it seemed he couldn't go a week without being injured, Hermione and Ginny had insisted he start carrying around one of Madam Pomfrey's first aid potions. It would staunch most bleeding, giving the user extra time to get proper medical help. He put his hand the centaur's human shoulder. "My name is Harry, I have a potion that will stop the bleeding," he stated. "I'm going to pull out the arrow and pour this on the wound," he explained.

"Will it hurt?" the colt asked.

"Quite a bit actually, but it goes away after a few minutes," Harry admitted.

The colt looked Harry in the eyes, trying to read the soul of this peculiar human. Until that moment, he had only known of two types of humans - those who ignored them and those who actively hunted them. Having one offer to use such a precious potion on him was a new experience. The colt looked even harder and slipped into the star gazing trance his race used to see into the Timestreams. He blinked several times when he saw eddies and swirls around this wizard, marking him as one who was out of his original Time. The colt came back to the here and now and nodded his head, gritting his teeth against the pain that was coming.

Harry grabbed the arrow firmly and pulled straight out. He tossed the arrow to the side and uncorked the vial. Holding the young centaur's hand in support, he poured the healing potion into the wound. Harry grimaced as well as the colt squeezed his hand in pain. Noises behind them, made Harry turn his head to see what was happening.

The three headed ogre had regained consciousness and threw the offending tree far into the forest. "I'm going to tear you into little pieces with my bare hands!" the middle head swore.

Godric saw that his knight was at a serious tactical disadvantage. He swallowed his fear and dove towards Harry. Instinctively, he grabbed the sword Arthur had given Harry and stood between the monster and his knight. The sword felt like it was made for him and that gave him a boost of confidence. "You're a fool, ogre," he taunted. "You are alive only because Sir Harry Potter wished it!" he claimed.

The ogre laughed at the puny human. "You say his name as if I should be afraid of it," the head on the left chuckled.

Godric smirked as he stepped closer to the ogre. "I sincerely doubt you would have ever heard his name before, but I'm certain you know the name of the lord he travels with," he stated. Taking the bait, the ogre leaned forward to hear who this mystery lord was. "Sir Harry travels with Lord Merlin and is the favorite of Lord Merlin's daughter," Godric explained, taking two more steps to close the gap with the enemy.

"Merlin?" all three heads said at once. The momentary pause caused by this stunning news gave Godric the opening he was looking for. He focused all of his untrained magical powers and threw Harry's sword. His will drove the sword into the ogre's chest, piercing its heart. The middle head looked down at the sword sticking out of it and muttered, "Oh bugger!" The monster toppled backwards as it died.

Godric stepped onto the ogre and pulled the sword out of its chest. He wiped the blood off of the blade with a patch of the ogre's kilt. Turning to look at Harry, he said, "Sorry, my lord. I know I shouldn't have taken your sword without your permission, but I didn't see any other way."

Harry laughed at Godric's fear of being punished for taking a knight's weapon. He undid the belt holding the scabbard and tossed it to Godric. "Keep it, it's yours," he ordered.

Godric looked like he had been smacked with a bludger. "Are you serious, my lord?" he inquired.

Harry grinned at Godric. "I'm positive," he replied. "All though, I might need to borrow it sometime in the future," he added cryptically.

"Of course, my lord, whenever you need it, it shall be there for you," Godric promised, unknowingly binding the sword to future Gryffindors.

The colt struggling to get back on its feet drew the others' attention. Once he was upright with Harry's help, he cocked his head to the side as he listened to the forest noises. "I have to leave. My herd is coming this way and I don't think they'll listen when I say you helped me," he said sadly. He walked slowly into the forest to intercept his herd. After taking a few steps, he stopped and turned his torso so he could look back at the wizard who had saved his life. "My name is Firenze and I hope that someday I can repay my debt to you, Sir Harry Potter," he said solemnly and then trotted off deeper into the forest.


	11. Chapter 11

**Village of Bretton, 957 AD**

Jack pointed down the now empty street that he, Hermione, and the Doctor had been looking down. Lancelot's view had been blocked by one of the villager's huts. "What the hell was that ugly son-of-a-bitch?" he swore. He saw the look of amazement in the Doctor's eyes. Hermione was looking at him like he had gone crazy. "Come on, someone else had to have seen that thing," he insisted.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Jack. "Honestly Jack, this is no time to be playing jokes," she chided him. "I've been looking down that street since we got here. It's been empty the whole time," she informed him.

The Doctor looked down at the mark he had drawn on his hand and shook his head. "Things have just become very complicated," he muttered to no one in particular.

Hermione reached out and took the Doctor's hand. She could tell from his voice that he was very concerned. "I'm sure Jack is just playing with us. He really hasn't gone around bend," she tried to assure her boyfriend. She began to worry when she saw his face darken even more.

The Doctor's head snapped up suddenly and he looked Hermione in the eyes. "I don't have time to explain things. You have to get Lancelot out of here as fast as possible. Magically fast would be preferable," he stated. "Jack and I will be all right here. Just make sure Lancelot stays at Camelot. We'll meet up with you back at castle… I promise," he told her.

Hermione quickly leaned over and quickly kissed the Doctor before grabbing Lancelot's hand. She focused on where she wanted to be and performed a side-along apparition with Lancelot in tow. With a bright flash, she and the knight disappeared, leaving their horses riderless.

The Doctor picked up the reins to Hermione's horse and tied it to Lancelot's saddle. He smacked the knight's horse on the backside and the two horses trotted off in the direction they had come. "Most of the knights have trained their horses to return to Camelot if they lose their riders. Lancelot is the best horseman I know," he explained.

Jack was about to make a joke about bareback riding, but he forced it down. He looked at his friend and saw the slightly ashamed look in his eyes. "Why did you lie to Hermione?" Jack asked bluntly.

The Doctor shifted in his saddle so he wouldn't have to look Jack in the eyes. "Who says I lied to Hermione?" he replied, trying to dodge the question.

Jack maneuvered his horse so he was in front of the Doctor. "You might have a new face and a slightly different personality, by I still know when you're lying," Jack informed him. "Lance was never the problem, was he?" he asked rhetorically.

The Doctor sighed and looked back down the street where he assumed the Silence had been. "I can't let them get too close a look at Hermione," he admitted. "River told me they knew about her and Melody, but not Hermione," he tried to explain. Changing topics suddenly, he asked Jack, "What did the creature you saw look like?"

Jack held his hand out so it would be a little taller than a good sized human. "About this tall with a large, bulbous head," he replied. "It was completely hairless and its head tapered down to point starting at the jaw. No mouth that I could see," he said. "Now that I think about it, apart from the no mouth thing, the creature looked a lot like Edvard Munch's Scream paintings," he added.

The Doctor nodded his head. "What was it wearing?" he asked.

Jack frowned at the question. "That was the really odd part," he said. "It was wearing a black business suit that looked like it was modeled after ones wore in the 1960s. If it was wearing Earth clothes to try and blend in, it missed its mark by a thousand years," he explained.

The Doctor was moving his head constantly, trying to look everywhere at once to see if he could catch sight of a Silence. "They call themselves the 'Silence'. They're Time travelers and I doubt they have a really firm grasp on human fashion through the ages," the Doctor said. "It's one of the reasons why I think of the Silence as being male," he admitted.

Jack laughed at the Doctor's remark, easing the tension he felt slightly. "How come Hermione couldn't see him?" he asked. "She was looking the same way I was," he said.

"The Silence have an almost perfect defense mechanism," the Doctor replied. "They create a psionic field that interferes with any living thing being able to remember them. As soon you look away… poof, you're memory of them vanishes," he explained. "All visual memory is blocked, however, it would seem as though their mental scrubbing doesn't cover _all_ auditory memories of the event. In fact, whatever mechanism they are using to block memories makes it so anything said when you are looking at them act like a post hypnotic suggestion," he said, letting Jack know what he had learned in the States. "The only hiccup in their defense is that as soon as you see a Silence, you can remember every time you have seen them in the past. But as soon as they are out of eyesight, all of your Silence memories are blocked out again," he stated.

Jack let out a low whistle. "Great, an enemy that you can't remember seeing, but can leave all sort of crap hidden in your brain," he complained. "Sounds like a few of my mother-in-laws throughout the years," he joked.

"It's probably why they – the aliens, not your mother-in-laws -refer to themselves as the Silence. Sort of a way to remind themselves to be as quiet as possible unless they want to leave a subliminal footprint," the Doctor guessed.

Jack held up his hand for the Doctor to stop. "Wait a minute. If they erase memories, how come you and I still remember what they look like?" he inquired.

The Doctor glanced back down the street. "In my case, I don't remember what they look like," he admitted. "I came up with the idea of using a marker on my hand when I see one to let myself know how many I had just encountered," he explained.

Jack nodded slowly. "OK, that makes sense in an only traveling with the Doctor could this crap actually happen kind of way," he deadpanned. "But what about me? How come I can remember them?" he wondered.

The Doctor shifted in his saddle so he could look directly at Jack. His mind raced through everything he knew about the Silence to come up with a theory. Unfortunately, the knowledge of the Silence he possessed amounted to very little. Suddenly, the Doctor smacked his forehead as an answer struck him. "Of course… why didn't I see that from the beginning!" he exclaimed. "It's so obvious!" he laughed, shaking his head in wonder.

Jack sighed and shook his head. He loved the Doctor dearly, but sometimes he could just throttle him. "What is so obvious?" he demanded.

"Don't you see, Jack?" he asked. "As far as the Universe is concerned, organic life exist in only two states – alive or dead," he explained. "The Silence's power only works on living minds, which is why an artificial mind like a computer chip can record them," he stated. "In most cases, you don't have to worry about altering the memories of dead things since they usually aren't an active threat anymore," he lectured. "It would have never occurred to whatever created the Silence that there could be a third state of existence," he pointed out.

Jack scratched his head. "Huh?" he asked.

"Life can now be broken into three states – alive, dead, or Jack," the Doctor said, trying to explain better.

"Neither alive nor dead," Jack muttered. "It makes sense, but what does any of this have to do with tricking Hermione into going back to Camelot?" he inquired, drawing the conversation back to where it had begun.

The Doctor looked at the road they had taken from Camelot. He turned to face Jack again, his eyes showing all 911 of his years. "The Silence are the primary members of the group that will eventually kill me," he said softly. "They kidnapped Hermione's mother so they could turn the child she was carrying into the perfect weapon against me," he told his friend. Jack ground his teeth in anger. "I did some research and figured out they somehow succeeded and it's River who kills me in the end," he whispered. "I think they're at this point in Earth history to try and wipeout the magical community. They threaten the technological path the Silence have laid out for the human race," he theorized.

Jack moved his hand to his shoulder holster and felt the comfort of the wooden handle on his favorite revolver. "OK, not really a problem. Since their power doesn't work on me, I'll just have myself a worldwide Silence hunting safari," he snarled.

The Doctor straightened in his saddle. "No you won't, Jack!" he ordered, laying a hand on Jack's arm. Looking around to make sure there was nothing in earshot, the Doctor leaned over and whispered something in Jack's ear.

When the Doctor was done whispering, Jack seemed to deflate in on himself. "Damn it!" he cursed. He couldn't fault his friend's logic and agreed there was a high possibility that he would help River when the time came to kill his best friend.

The Doctor gave Jack a weak smile. "Come on, I think I know where the Silence would be hiding in the village," he said. The Doctor pointed towards the only two story building in the village. "The village church, the center about which the rest of the village revolves," he stated. "Let's go and try to give the magic community some breathing room," he suggested. He nudged his horse and rode towards the whitewashed, stone church.

The village priest knelt at the small altar and prayed for guidance considering the magicians he knew still stained the countryside of his parish. He couldn't believe that at one time he had welcomed them into his church with open arms. Their kind needed to be wiped off the face of the Earth to make it safe for god-fearing people. It had only been in the past couple of months that his eyes had been truly opened. He said another prayer hoping that their King would see his mistake and join the church in condemning the wicked.

The sound of the church doors being violently thrown open made the priest spin around. Two men dressed in odd clothing stood in the open doorway, the light from the outside making them look like they were glowing. The "otherness" he sensed from them made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The one wearing a dark blue coat of some kind glared at the priest and uttered only one word, "Leave!" The priest swallowed hard at the coldness in the man's voice. Deciding that he had other tasks to attend to, such as keeping himself alive, the priest ran out a side door that led to his hut.

Once the priest had left, the Doctor strode into the church with all of the authority that was granted him as a Time Lord. "You know who I am, and I know you're here, so come and out where I can see you!" he shouted.

Three Silence dropped from the rafters of the bell tower to land crouched in front of the altar. They straightened up and glared at the intruders. "**Doctor! We did not expect to see you so soon,**" the Silence in the middle hissed. "**Why are you here?**" it demanded.

"I came to ask you to leave the magical community alone," the Doctor replied, refusing to be intimidated. He pretended to scratch his arm and put three tally marks on the inside of his wrist.

The Silence on the left cocked its head to the side and pointed a flipper like hand at the Doctor. "**The magical humans are an obstacle to our plan and must be eliminated,**" it explained calmly.

The Doctor stood his ground. "The damage you have done already will be enough to keep them from delaying your plan," he argued.

The middle silence laughed at the Doctor. "**Even if that were true, it would be much simpler to just destroy all of them rather than worry about them hampering things,**" it countered. "**Again I ask, why are you here? There is nothing you can do to stop us,**" it pointed out.

The Doctor reached into his jacket and slowly pulled out a red and green handkerchief. "You're right. At this point in the game, there is nothing _I_ can do about it, however…" he stated and handed the handkerchief to Jack.

Jack took the handkerchief and folded it into a blindfold. He tied the blindfold around his head and turned to face away from the Silence. "There are three of you standing in front of the altar. You are about 2 meters tall, wearing black suits, and have no visible mouths," he told them. Jack paused before adding, "Also the one on my right has sheep dung stuck on his pant leg." All three Silence looked down at the indicated pant leg as Jack taunted in a sing-song voice, "Made you look!" He tore off the blindfold and stared at the Silence.

The Silence on the right gave out a guttural growl and pointed his hand at Jack. Lightning like energies leapt from his hand to strike Jack in the chest. The energy played over Jack's body, knocking him to the ground. He died yet again, but the energy charge failed to disintegrate him.

After a moment, Jack drew in a deep breath and stood up. "That kind of tickled," he whispered to the Doctor. Jack faced the Silence. "My turn," he snarled and drew his revolver. He fired once, shooting the Silence that had attacked him. The bullet struck his enemy right between its huge eyes. The Silence was dead before it hit the hard packed dirt of the church floor.

The Doctor inwardly cringed at the death of even this creature but kept his distaste to himself. "As you can see, it happens that I do have something to bargain with," he told the Silence. "Quit putting ideas in the villager's heads about killing anything magical, or I'll leave Jack here to wage a one man war on you lot," he warned. "I know he will never be able to kill all of you, but he will definitely slow down your plans for me and Lake Silencio," he said evenly. He watched as the two remaining Silence looked at each other, shock in their eyes. "Yes, I know about Lake Silencio," he told them slowly. The Doctor knew he had the Silence where he wanted them. He only needed to add one little bit to make sure things happened like he knew they needed to. "One more thing to sweeten the pot, as they say. If you leave the magical community alone, I promise that when the time comes, I will go to Lake Silencio without a fight," he assured them. "Now, do we have a deal or not?" he demanded.

The middle Silence nodded its enormous head once. "**Yes, that offer is acceptable. However, we will not use our influence to change how the church leaders already feel,**" it stated.

The Doctor waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Fine, fine… I knew better than to expect anything like compassion from you lot," he scoffed. He turned and started to walk out of the church.

Jack was about to follow the Doctor, but he stopped after only one step. He turned back around and looked the Silence over from top to bottom. "One last thing," he began. "I know you guys are trying to rock the whole 'Men in Black' vibe - what with the black suits and the erasing memories thing," he pointed out. "I just don't think you guys have what it takes to pull that look off. I think it's because of the main difference between you and the real Men in Black," he added.

The Silence on the left took the bait and asked, "**What difference?**"

Jack reached into his coat and pulled out a set of sunglasses he kept for just such an occasion. While putting the sunglasses on his face, he informed the Silence, "Agent J makes that suit look _gooood_."


	12. Chapter 12

**Camelot, 957 AD**

Arthur Pendragon strode into the central courtyard of Camelot to greet his returning knights, their new squires, and Merlin's daughter. He chuckled at the memory of how the young woman had bested three of his knights in a demonstration of her battle skills. The fact that she was a powerful witch as well made her a very powerful piece in the great game between good and evil. He smiled as a plan popped into his head to cement her position in his court, even if it would be over a thousand years in the future.

Harry, Sirius, and Ginny brought their brooms in for an easy landing. Once they stopped, the young Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Gertrude Gryffindor ran to join them. Godric was beaming with pride as he hopped off of Harry's broom. Salazar slid off of Sirius' broom, still a little green around the gills. Gertrude rushed over to the smaller boy and helped him steady himself.

Arthur clapped Sirius on the back, welcoming him home. "Well, my Black Knight, what have you to report?" he inquired.

Sirius smiled at his king. "I would say we had quite the successful afternoon, my liege," he replied. "Lady Ginny and I drove back a peasant mob intent on defiling the Forbidden Forest," he stated. Arthur had never heard that particular forest referred to that way, but he liked how it sounded. "Sir Harry rescued an injured centaur colt that was about to be eaten by an ogre," he added. Sirius pointed at Godric. "Young Master Gryffindor over there slayed said ogre using the sword you gave Harry," he said proudly.

Arthur turned to look at Salazar, who looked completely miserable. "How about you, Lad? What did you manage to get into?" he asked.

Salazar looked down at the ground in shame. "I threw up on Sirius' broom," he admitted. Gertrude tightened her grip on his shoulder in support.

Arthur leaned down to put his face next to Salazar's. "I've seen my Black Knight fly that thing. You probably held your breakfast longer than I would have," he said in a conspiratorial voice. Salazar smiled at the king. He knew Arthur was lying, but it still felt good to know that the most important man in the kingdom had taken the time to try and make him feel better.

Harry stepped towards Arthur and bowed. "I hope you don't mind, Sire, but I gave the sword you gave me to Godric. He used it to kill the ogre and I think he deserves it," he stated.

"I trust my knights' judgments in these matters," Arthur said formally. He leaned in towards Harry and whispered, "For what it's worth, I sort of expected that. I remember the stories Sirius told me about you." Arthur straightened and held his hand out to Godric. "If you would be so as good as to hand the sword back to me, I can send it off to have your name engraved on it by its maker," he requested. Godric unbuckled the scabbard and handed Arthur the whole kit to Arthur.

Ginny turned her head as the scent of dinner cooking wafted her way. "We totally forgot about lunch. Come on, I'm starved," she said and started off towards the kitchen. Sirius and the Hogwarts Founders stared at her retreating back in horror. She had left the king's presence without his leave. Arthur noticed their stunned looks and laughed. "She's Merlin's daughter, that's for sure," he chuckled. Arthur met Sirius' eyes. "That combined with how well she fights makes me inclined to let her come and go however the bloody hell she feels like," he joked. The others relaxed visibly. "GO on, I can't have my people falling down from hunger, now can I," he suggested. When the small group turned to follow Ginny, Arthur put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Before you eat, I would like a word with you, Sir Harry," he said formally.

Harry bowed again and replied, "Of course, my lord." He let himself be led away to another part of the castle.

As they walked through the stone hallways, Arthur kept a friendly hand on Harry's shoulder. "I usually have this chat with my knights sometime before I actually knight them," he stated. Arthur drew in a deep breath before going on. "Harry, very few of my knights die peacefully in their beds," he said. "From what Sirius has told me about the future and your battles with Voldemort, I would have to say that the odds of you doing so are even more remote," he added. Harry nodded without saying anything. He had been having the same thoughts ever since he learned of Voldemort in his first year at Hogwarts.

The two men came to a sturdy, iron bound door guarded by two junior knights. Arthur took out the key that hung from a chain around his neck and unlocked the door. He pushed open the heavy door and ushered Harry into the room. When Harry stepped in, he saw all types of treasure ranging from paintings to chest filled with gold and jewels. Arthur turned his back on Harry and started rummaging around on a shelf lining the closest wall. "What I'm trying to say, Harry, is that a person never knows when your last day is finally upon them, my knights more so than others," he said. He found the small box he was looking for and turned around smiling. "Seize the day, Harry. Live as if each day is your last," he instructed his knight. He handed Harry the small box and waited for him to open it.

Harry opened the box and found that it housed a golden ring with a moderate sized ruby in the center. While the ruby's size was nothing to write home about, the clarity and fire it held was breathtaking. "Thank you, my king," Harry said gratefully. After a moment, he added, "But, I'm not really the jewelry wearing type."

Arthur took one step closer to Harry and playfully smacked him on the back of his head. "It's not for you, you dolt!" he informed Harry. "I think the ruby will match a certain someone's hair quite nicely, don't you think?" he asked rhetorically. Arthur pointed out the doors. "Be brave, Sir Harry. Seize the day," he commanded. Harry smiled and started to race out of the room, deciding to follow his king's suggestion. "Just make sure you follow the proper customs, Sir Harry," he called out to the young wizard.

Arthur relocked the door to his treasury and smiled at the two knights guarding it. "Now we'll see how brave Sir Harry truly is," he commented.

"My Lord?" one of the knights asked, not sure of what the king was getting at.

Arthur looked down the hall where Harry had gone. "Harry has to go find Merlin and ask him for his daughter's hand in marriage," he replied mischievously. Both guards gulped loudly, thankful their usual quest only dealt with slaying dragons or something comparatively easy like that.

A few minutes after Harry had his talk with King Arthur, the Doctor and Jack rode back into Camelot. Their ride back had been in silence, each man lost in their own thoughts. When they reached the courtyard, the Doctor broke their silence. "I wonder if Hermione figured out I tricked her yet?" he wondered aloud. She would have arrived hours ahead of them and had plenty of time to think about what had happened.

Both men looked up to a balcony that overlooked the courtyard when they sensed motion. Hermione made sure they saw her and then turned around, storming back into her room. "Yep, she figured it out," Jack told him needlessly.

They both got off of their horses and the Doctor ran his hand through his hair. "I suppose I should go take my punishment,' he muttered.

Jack stopped the Doctor with a hand on his chest. "Let me get this one for you," he offered. "It's time I explained the rules of traveling with you to Hermione," he said, his mind made up. He pushed the Doctor off in direction of the kitchens. "Go grab a snack and give me at least ten minutes before you come up to grovel for her forgiveness," he suggested.

The Doctor made a sour face at Jack. "Grovel… do you really think it will require that? I don't do groveling well," he stated.

Jack shook his head in amusement. "Over 900 years old and you still don't get women," he chuckled. "Trust me, Doctor, this _will_ require groveling on your part," he told him firmly. Jack spun around and walked off towards the tower where Hermione was.

Harry spotted the Doctor in the courtyard and made a bee line for him before his courage failed him. "Doctor!" he called out and waved to get the old alien's attention.

The Doctor waited for harry to reach him. "Hello, Harry," he said warmly. Leaning in towards Harry he suggested, "Around here, it's probably best if you call me Merlin."

Harry matched the Doctor's smile, relieved that Ginny's birth father was in a good mood. "Doc… Merlin, do you have a moment?" he requested.

The Doctor let the stable hands lead their horses off, leaving just him and Harry alone in the courtyard. "I'm a Time Lord, I have lots of minutes – some of them actually in the right order," he replied jokingly.

Deciding the direct approach was going to be the best, harry went with his typical Gryffindor charge. "I want to ask you for permission to marry your daughter," he blurted out.

The Doctor smiled even more. "Arthur gave you his 'seize the day' speech, didn't he?" he inquired, his eyes twinkling.

Harry looked very embarrassed and replied, "Um… yes, but that's not all of it. I really do…" he started to say before he was cut off by a raised hand from the Doctor.

"I was expecting something like this from the King," the Doctor said, interrupting harry. "He always was one to look after both the physical and mental wellbeing of his people," he explained. He saw doubt starting to form on Harry's face. The Doctor put both hands on Harry's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Harry James Potter, I would be honored to have you as my son-in-law. You have my permission, for whatever that's worth," he told him happily.

Harry smiled from ear to ear. "Thank you, _Doctor_," he whispered.

The Doctor took his hands off of Harry's shoulders and looked around. He pointed towards a door on the eastern wall. "If my memory serves, that door leads to Guinevere's gardens," he said. "I'll go find my daughter and have her meet you there," he offered.

**********DrW**********

Harry paced nervously around the queen's garden. He thought back to the first time he had met Ginny on Platform 9 ¾. Over the years their relationship had gone from him thinking of her as just his best friend's little sister into the woman he loved with all of his heart. Things had become a bit _complicated_ once she had regained her memories of her life between Messaline and Earth. Harry had been floored when she explained to him that she was actually an alien Time traveler and the Doctor was her biological father. Finding out her dad also happened to be the most famous wizard of all time seemed like par for the new course. Harry had a fleeting moment of doubt when he wondered if she would be able to lower her standards and marry a mere human.

Harry was so focused on what he was going to say, he was startled when Ginny opened the door. "Dad said there was something you wanted to talk about," she said nervously. The Doctor had been very serious when he told her that Harry wanted to see her. On the way to the garden, her mind raced through all types of possible bad things Harry might want to discuss. She was worried that the King had told Harry to set aside all thoughts of marriage and a family life or some sort of rubbish like that.

Harry took Ginny's hand and led her to a stone bench where he had her sit while he stood. "Ginny, King Arthur said some things to me that really made sense," he started out saying.

Ginny fought down the tears that were threatening to come out. She would be damned if she let some king from the past try and get in between them. She forced a smile onto her face and waited for Harry to go on.

Harry took in a deep breath to calm his nerves. He reached into his robe pocket and palmed the ring the king had given him. Staring into Ginny's beautiful eyes, he went down onto one knee. He took her hand in his and held out the ruby ring. "Ginny Weasley, will you marry me?" he requested with all of his heart.

Ginny leapt off of the bench and knocked Harry to the ground. In between passionate kisses, she managed to get out, "Of course I'll marry you, Harry Potter!" Harry returned the kisses with equal passion, happier than he could ever remember being.

The door to the garden shut silently as Sirius gently pulled it shut. He turned around and smiled at Merlin. "Thank you, Merlin," Sirius whispered. "That is a memory I will cherish forever,' he told him. His smile became bittersweet and then hopeful when he remembered a similar conversation between him and Ace in the park at Godric's hollow. Ace had reacted much the same way as Ginny had.

**********DrW*********

Hermione was pacing back and forth in the tower room she had been given by Arthur. She had been tempted to go somewhere else when she overheard one of the servants referring to it as "Merlin's room" on her way up the stairs. She was furious that she had been tricked by the Doctor. The on again / off again nature of how he acted towards her was driving her mad. A knock on the door earned a cross response from Hermione. "Who is it?" she demanded.

"The most handsome man in the universe," Jack replied.

Hermione rolled her eyes and then said, "Come in, Jack."

Jack opened the door and walked into the room. He left the door open in case he had to make a hasty retreat. "So you figured out the Doctor's stunt from earlier had nothing to do with Lancelot, huh?" he inquired.

"Ooooh!" Hermione screamed and threw a pillow from the couch across the room. Jack was glad it hadn't been anything breakable or thrown at him. "I just don't know what to think. One moment he's standoffish to me, the next were sharing a romantic moment on horseback, followed by him tricking me into apparating back to Camelot!" she fumed.

Jack leaned against the door frame. "I guess it's time to tell you the facts of life when it comes to the Doctor," he said, half-jokingly. Jack held up one finger. "Rule number one, the Doctor lies," he said simply.

Hermione scowled at Jack. "I already figured that one out," she told him coldly.

"You might have, but it's not what you think," Jack told her. This made Hermione stop pacing and stare at him. "In all the years I've known the Doctor… in all three of the versions I have met… I have never known the Doctor to lie for his own gain," he stated firmly. Jack walked farther into the room and took one of Hermione's hands. "He might act like the alien he is at times, but he knows perfectly well how those of us he chooses as his Companions feel about him," he told her. "He knows we would gladly die for him," he said softly.

Hermione's anger deflated and she plopped down onto the couch. "If he knows we love him, why lie to us then" asked.

Jack sat down next to Hermione. "I'll answer that with a question of my own," Jack replied. "If the Doctor had asked you to go back to Camelot because he was afraid for your safety, would you have gone? Even if he told you he couldn't do what he needed to if he was worried about you?" he posed to her.

Hermione looked down at her hands. "No, I would have stayed by his side," she admitted.

"If he feels that protective of his Companions, how do you think he feels about the woman he loves?" Jack pressed.

Hermione sighed. She loved the Doctor and would have done the same thing had the tables been reversed. "Still doesn't change the fact that I hate that man sometimes," she pouted.

"No you don't" the Doctor said from the doorway.

Jack got off the couch and made his way out of the room. When he was next to the Doctor, he whispered, "That doesn't sound like groveling to me."

"Like I said, I don't do groveling well," the Doctor repeated.

Jack shook his head and muttered, "Probably why you've been single for so long," before heading down the stairs.

Hermione tried to be mad at the Doctor. "I'm still cross with you," she informed him. "If you didn't come up here to beg for forgiveness, why did you come up here?" she asked.

The Doctor walked into the room and stood next to the large fireplace. "First off, I will never… ever be sorry for trying to protect you, Hermione," he told her firmly. "I love you too much for that," he added in almost a whisper.

Hermione gave in and joined him by the fireplace, taking his hand. "Mother always said men act stupidly when they're in love," she told him.

That made the Doctor smile. He remembered how needlessly jealous Rory had been when it came to her mother. "Look, before I forget, I wanted to let you know that Harry just asked Ginny to marry him," he said in an offhand manner.

Hermione's face lit up like it was Christmas morning. "She said yes, didn't she?" she begged to know.

"Yes, Harry is going to be my son-in-law," the Doctor replied with a smirk.

Hermione started to pull away from the Doctor as she tried to hurry out of the room. "I have to see Ginny and get the details," she nearly screamed in excitement.

The Doctor kept a firm hold on Hermione's hand and kept her from leaving. "Ginny and Harry are sort of… busy right now," he explained. "We should give them some quiet time to just be together," he suggested. When he was done speaking, his smile faded and he dropped Hermione's hand.

Hermione saw the change in the Doctor and grabbed his hand again. From the ashamed look on his face, she knew it had nothing to do with Ginny or harry. "You, sit down and tell me what's wrong!" she commanded, sounding every bit like her mother.

The Doctor complied, familiar with what crossing Scottish stubbornness would cost him. Hermione sat down next to him, never releasing his hand. The Doctor managed to look up at Hermione. "It's my fault that we've never really had any quiet time to ourselves," he told her.

Hermione smiled at the Doctor and shrugged. "You're busy protecting the Earth and things like that," she said, trying to make him feel better.

The Doctor shook his head dismissively. "You don't understand. I do it on purpose," he said softly. Hermione leaned away from him, shocked at what he had said. "It's not you, Hermione. I'm deathly afraid of any type of quiet time," he admitted.

Hermione tried to think of what might have caused this type of fear in the Doctor. "Why?" was all she managed to ask.

The Doctor looked down at the floor sadly. "It's when things are quiet that I remember what I've done," he replied. He paused before going on. "I should have told you this from the beginning, but I was afraid of losing you," he told her.

Hermione stroked the Doctor's arm reassuringly. "Tell me what you've done and let me be the judge of things," she suggested.

The Doctor nodded once, still unable to meet her eyes. "The reason why I'm the last of the Time Lords is because I killed the rest of them. I committed genocide on my own race," he told her sadly. He looked up to see Hermione blinking in shock.

"What happened?" Hermione begged. She couldn't imagine her gentle, kind Doctor hurting anyone, let alone killing off his own people.

The Doctor pulled his hand away from Hermione, stood up, and stared into the fireplace. The burning logs reminding him of the last moments of Gallifrey. "There was a terrible war between my people and a race known as the Daleks," he started to explain. "Both sides possessed the ability to travel in Time. My people wanted to remain simple observers while the Daleks wanted nothing else but the extermination of all life other than theirs. I had warned my people about the Daleks, but they refused to get involved until it was too late," he said. "Entire worlds and sentient species were removed from existence in the war as Time and Space collapsed in the areas we fought in," he told her, guilt resonating in his voice.

The flames seemed to hypnotize the Doctor and it was few moments before he spoke again. "I could have stopped the war before it started when I had a chance to stop the Daleks from ever being created," he sighed. "I chose instead to give them a chance and hope that their race might mature," he told her. "I was wrong," he whispered while he smacked the stone fireplace with his hand.

"Because of the High Council's refusal to act in time, we realized we were losing the war," the Doctor went on. "A good friend of mine was able to sneak me the plans of what the High Council was planning to turn the tide. Something they referred to as the Final Sanction," he said. "They had discovered a way to ascend to a higher state of being by channeling energy from the higher planes into this one. The only bad part of their plan was it would require the destruction of the rest of the Universe for them to do it," he explained. I was caught between two impossible choices. Let the Daleks destroy all life, or let my own people do it," he sighed. "In the end, I chose a third path," he said sadly

The Doctor pulled out the fire poker and stirred the ashes, making embers fly up the chimney. "I had my friend on the Council disable the shields protecting my home world and I sent a message to the Daleks letting them know Gallifrey was unprotected," he said, still staring at the flames. "Davros, the leader of the Daleks, acted true to form and brought every last Dalek into our solar system to make sure he wiped out the Time Lords," he told her. "Once everyone was in one place, I used my mental link with a powerful, ancient tool called the Hand of Omega. I detonated the twin stars of our system, Kasterborous prime and minor. They flashed over into supernovae and I watched as fire burned across my home world and the Dalek ships, cleansing the Universe to give everyone else a chance at living," he admitted, tears streaming down his cheeks. . His face looked haunted by the memories. He didn't know how to tell her about "the Moment" he carried in his soul as penance. The frozen bit of Time containing the last instant before Gallifrey burned.

Hermione got up from the couch and stood in front of the Doctor. She held his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "I love you now more than ever," she assured him. She brought his face down to her and kissed him. At first the Doctor didn't respond, but eventually he relaxed and kissed her back. Hermione broke off the kiss and looked the man she loved in the eyes again. "My love, from now on, whenever the ghosts of the past start to become too loud, just kiss me. I'm sure I can distract you," she promised with a grin. The Doctor was still crying, but he was relieved Hermione still loved him after he told her his greatest shame. He kissed her for all he was worth, banishing his guilt for a while.

**********DrW**********

Hermione awoke fully clothed on the couch snuggled up next to the Doctor. The Doctor was stroking her hair lovingly and whispering her name. She smiled as she remembered the night they had spent in each other's arms. They had decided to wait on making the final leap in their physical relationship until they were both more emotionally rested and had stopped things at the kissing phase. Even without fully consummating their relationship, she still felt the evening had help solidify their love for each other. Hermione looked out the window and saw it was still dark outside. "What time is it?" she moaned, hugging the blanket that was over her tighter and burrowing closer to the Doctor.

The Doctor kept stroking Hermione's bushy hair, more content that he had been since the fall of Gallifrey. "Time for us to sneak out of the castle and set up a wedding present for Ginny and Harry," he told her.

Hermione instantly perked up. "What do you have in mind?" she asked happily when saw the smile on his face.

The Doctor put a finger on Hermione's lips. "Shhhh. I'll explain when we get there," he told her. The Doctor rose and helped Hermione to her feet. She saw a plate full of food had been placed on the end table while she had slept. The Doctor shrugged and said, "I sent a servant for room service."

After a quick breakfast, the Doctor led Hermione to the TARDIS. He noticed Hermione's skeptical look. "We're only making a Spatial hop; so you don't have to worry about me not getting back when I said I would," he said sheepishly. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll teach you how to fly the old girl starting this morning," he promised her while holding out a gleaming brass key.

Hermione looked at the simple key quizzically until she realized it looked like it would fit in the old lock on the doors. She snatched the key out of his hand and smiled mischievously at him. "Why Doctor, are you giving me a key to your flat?" she teased. The Doctor looked stunned for a moment. He hadn't thought about it like that. Before he could say anything, Hermione used her new key to unlock the TARDIS and walk in.

The TARDIS dematerialized with the familiar take off sounds and rematerialized inside the mouth of a large cave. The doors opened and Hermione gasped in wonder once she stepped into the cavern. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the cave were covered in beautiful crystals ranging in size from a few centimeters in length to over three meters tall. The Doctor joined her and stood still so she could drink in the beauty of the place. "Where are we?" she whispered.

The Doctor walked out into the field of crystals and spun around, his arms held out wide. "I believe the locals were a bit unimaginative and named this place 'the Crystal Cave'," he replied.

Hermione's knowledge of Arthurian legend made her look up at him in fear. "But, Doctor… isn't that where the legends say Morgana trapped Merlin inside one of the crystals for all of eternity?" she asked.

The Doctor turned around and started peering into different crystals, looking for a particular one. "I always wondered about that, but I think I finally figured out what caused that legend," he told her over his shoulder. When he saw her folding her arms across her chest in frustration with him, he wisely decided to explain more. He gestured towards the crystals with a broad wave of his hand. "These crystals were formed with the energy of a minor temporal rift. Of course this one isn't anywhere close to the size of the one in Cardiff. In fact, this one is so small, nothing but rift energy can get through," he assured her.

Hermione walked into the cave to stand next to the Doctor. "I'm not quite following you, Doctor," she told him.

"These crystals are packed with temporal energies, keying each one into a certain important event in Time," he went on, trying to explain better. "Those with the ability to see into the Time streams can see those scenes repeated over and over again inside the crystals," he said.

The Doctor was silent for a bit until he found the one crystal he was sure would be there. He stopped in front of a crystal that went from floor to ceiling. Peering into the enormous gem, he was able to make out a lake in the mountains of Utah. The Doctor spun around and forced a smile on his face. "The other neat thing about rift energies is that it can be used to fuel a TARDIS," he told Hermione. He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out something that looked like metallic coral.

Hermione tiled her head from side to side as she looked at the strange coral. "What is that?" she inquired, finding herself sucked in by the opportunity to learn something new.

The Doctor stepped around the large crystal and gently placed the coral on the ground. "It's a bit of my TARDIS," he said, patting the coral fondly before standing up. "The low levels of rift energy in this cavern will nurture and feed this bit of TARDIS, letting it grow into a fully mature TARDIS in about a thousand years or so," he said with a grin.

Hermione caught on instantly. "You're growing Ginny her own TARDIS," she exclaimed.

The Doctor leaned on the crystal. "Yep," he replied. "Now I just need to safeguard it from anyone who might stumble in here," he said. The Doctor held out his hand. "You're PHART please," he requested.

Hermione was slightly perplexed for a moment until she remembered the hologram projecting pendant he had given her. She pulled the chain off of her neck. "I thought it was burned out," she told him.

The Doctor took the PHART and worked on it for a moment with his sonic screwdriver. "For projecting a moving, adapting hologram, it is," he agreed. He finished making the adjustments he wanted and placed the crystal in between the TARDIS coral and the crystal. A quick blast from his screwdriver activated the new program. The PHART projected an image of Dumbledore looking very cross inside the crystal. The image turned to look at Hermione and said loudly, "Go away while you still can!"

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "That's why people have always imagined Merlin looking like Prof. Dumbledore. You planted the idea in the first place!" she said, excited to finally know the answer to a question that had been bothering her.

"Well, I didn't think an image of me looking like I do know would be quite as scary," the Doctor replied with a grin.


	13. Chapter 13

**Camelot, 957 AD**

After the short trip to the Crystal Cave, the TARDIS rematerialized inside of Camelot's throne room. As soon as the Doctor and Hermione exited the old, blue box, Ginny came rushing into the room, dragging a sleepy Harry behind her. "I thought I heard the sounds of TARDIS flight," Ginny told her father.

"I was just giving Hermione her first lesson on how to fly the old girl," the Doctor said, telling his daughter a half truth. He looked around the room and then walked over to a cord attached to a bell. Pulling on the cord summoned a pair of servants. "I'm sure the King has given you orders to keep an eye on me, so go wake him and the others. Tell them it's time for me and my friends to be going," he instructed. The servants bowed deeply and ran off to the King and Queen's quarters.

After a few minutes, the throne room was packed with members of the royal court, the young Founders, and the knights who were currently in residence. Once they were all assembled, Sirius walked slowly to stand before the thrones where Arthur and Guinevere were seated. Sirius wore his black leather armor and held his staff in his right hand. He bent down on one knee and addressed his king. "My lord, I beg your leave to travel with Merlin," he requested formally.

Arthur reached out and gripped his knight's shoulder. "Not just with my permission, but with my blessings do I grant you leave, my Black Knight," he replied. Before letting go of Sirius' shoulder he added, "But remember, you shall always have a home at Camelot should you and the lady you hope to find in the future wish to return."

When Arthur let go of his shoulder, Sirius stood up and whispered a heartfelt, "Thank you, my king."

Arthur turned in his throne to face Harry and Ginny. He motioned for them to approach. Once they were in front of King Arthur, Harry knelt on one knee while Ginny remained standing. "Sir Harry, your godfather has told me of the world you are returning to. A world I must say sounds quite disturbing," he informed Harry. "With that said, I still feel as though the people of this island will always be my responsibility. Even though by that time I will be long dead, I expect you to represent _my_ justice and mercy to a land in dire need of both," Arthur commanded.

Harry bowed his head deeply to Arthur. "I will do so, my king," he promised.

Guinevere looked coyly at Ginny. "Take care of our young knight, Lady Ginny. I expect to hear reports that Merlin has been graced by grandchildren eventually," she said sweetly. She watched as the Doctor fought to control his facial expressions at the mere thought.

Arthur chuckled and waved Harry and Ginny to the side. He took his queen's hand and they stood together as the Doctor and Hermione approached the throne, indicating a meeting of equals. Arthur reached out to grasp the Doctor's forearm. "As always, I will miss your council while you are gone, Lord Merlin," he told his friend. "Now more than ever seeing as you are taking with you the wizard I had filling in during your absence," he added.

The Doctor looked over to the where the young founders stood along the wall. "I think you will find I have left you four equally capable replacements," he replied. "I have it on very good authority that they will be almost as famous as I am in the Wizarding world," he confided.

At an unspoken signal from the Queen, Arthur took Hermione's hand and led her to say her goodbyes to Lancelot and the Founders. Guinevere looked sadly into the Doctor's eyes. "I was able to figure out when you are in your personal Timeline from things the 'older' Lady of the Lake has told me," she whispered. Without warning, Guinevere stepped forward and gave a comforting hug to the Doctor. "Be brave, old friend," she whispered in his ear.

After the queen let go, the Doctor tried to read what she knew by her facial expressions. In the end, he gave up and just asked, "What are we talking about here?"

Guinevere forced a smile on her face. "River confided in me why she insisted on being called 'the Lady of the Lake'," she told him. "She said it was a form of penance," she added.

The Doctor nodded his head once and walked towards the TARDIS, not wanting to discuss his death further. "All right, time to go everybody," he called out. While Ginny and Harry led Sirius to the TARDIS, the Doctor watched Jack pull Lancelot behind a tapestry for a final snog. "Jaaaack," the Doctor sighed loudly.

Jack walked out from behind the tapestry with a smile on his face. Once he stood next to the Doctor, Jack turned around and saluted Lancelot who had just come out from behind the tapestry, adjusting his casual court attire. Lancelot returned the salute with a smile.

Hermione was the last one in the TARDIS and she closed the doors behind her. She walked up to the control panel to watch how Ginny and the Doctor went about inputting the coordinates for their next hop. "Back to the Burrow?" she inquired.

The Doctor stopped suddenly and faced Hermione. "Not quite," he replied. "I have to make a really short stop on the way there and pick up an old friend before we head back to the Burrow," he explained.

**********DrW**********

**London, April 2011**

The Companion the Doctor had referred to paced back and forth in the dark attic. He had reached a strange point in his life. For once, he had no idea what he was going to do. As long as he could remember, he had always had a mission, a purpose. Recently, the woman he had been tasked with protecting for so many years had finally succumbed to an enemy he couldn't fight – cancer. With her gone, he had to make a decision about what he should do next. Her son had moved off to University and the Companion didn't much fancy hiding out in a closest for most of the time while Luke got an education. Maria had moved to America. Rani had accepted an internship with UNIT, and the Companion didn't want them taking him apart to see what made him tick. Clyde annoyed him almost as much Mickey Smith did, so moving in with him was definitely out of the question.

His ears began to move back and forth as the Companion sensed a disturbance in the temporal fields near him. Though he would never admit it, equal parts of electricity and relief flowed through his circuits when the familiar form of the TARDIS materialized in front of him. The door opened and in the dim attic, the Doctor seemed to be surrounded by a glowing light as he stood in the doorway. "I need your help. I need you to protect the woman I love," the Doctor pleaded.

"Affirmative, master," the old Companion replied. He hovered a few inches above the ground and flew back into the TARDIS. His antennae like tail wagged in joy over having a purpose again.

The Doctor looked over to the faux fireplace on the far wall. "Mr. Smith, tell the others where K-9 has gone, won't you?" he requested.

A second computerized voice replied from the fireplace, "I will do that, Doctor."

The Doctor smiled fondly as he watched his old friend hover into the TARDIS to be greeted by the shocked stares of the wizards and witches. He sighed in relief as he shut the doors, thankful that he would have someone who could look after Hermione in regards to the Silence so he could focus on defeating the Valeyard. With a clap of his hands, the Doctor spun around and announced their newest passenger. "Everybody, I would like you to meet my dog… K-9," he said proudly.

Harry, Sirius, and Hermione continued to stare at K-9. "You have a robot dog?" Harry managed to ask.

"Of course I do," the Doctor replied. "Real ones leave messes," he added.

**********DrW**********

**Malfoy Estate, Wiltshire 1997**

Lucius Malfoy crept nervously through the halls of his family manor. His nerves were beyond frayed after what he had just witnessed and being called into report to the Dark Lord had almost pushed him over the edge. He stopped in front of the dark oak door leading to what had used to be _his_ study before Voldemort had taken up court there. As his hand started to descend onto the door to knock, he heard his master's voice from inside. "Come in, Lucius," Voldemort called out.

Lucius swallowed hard and turned the knob. He slowly opened the door to see his lord's giant snake, Nagini, holding her triangle shaped head a meter above the ground. She stared into his eyes with intelligence far beyond what one would expect in a normal snake. Lucius was the first to look away, his skin growing cold. Satisfied with her show of dominance, Nagini lowered her head and slithered to wrap herself around the feet of the high backed chair Voldemort had placed in the center of the room. Once his gaze was free, Lucius looked around the room and saw a miserable looking Bellatrix Lestrange standing off to one side. She was forced to stand since Voldemort had removed anything else to sit on save his own chair.

"I'm beginning to wonder what has happened to my fearsome Death Eaters since my little accident with the boy," Voldemort said thoughtfully.

"My... my lord, I'm not certain what you mean," Lucius stammered.

Voldemort gently stroked Nagini's head before speaking, letting Lucius squirm in the awkward silence. "First Bellatrix fails to stop the boy and the Doctor inside the very Ministry of Magic which now belongs to us and you return empty handed after I sent you on a very simple errand," he scolded, his voice never rising above a conversational tone. "Why have you returned alone, Lucius?" he inquired. "I told you to bring back Dolores Umbridge and have her explain why she has hasn't answered any of the Floo summons from our puppet, Minister Thicknesse," he reminded the pale wizard. Voldemort shifted in his seat to get a better look at Lucius as the man grew even paler, something the Dark Lord didn't think was possible.

"Umbridge is dead, my lord," Lucius managed to choke out. Bile threatened to force its way into his mouth as he remembered what he had found at her home.

"I did not give you permission to kill that toad of a woman," Voldemort hissed angrily. "Explain yourself, Malfoy," he demanded, his grip tightening on his wand.

Lucius walked across the room to a black marble pensieve on a pedestal. "I do not have the words to explain what I saw, my lord," he said, his voice shaky and uneven. He tapped his temple with his wand and drew out the silvery memory tendril of his visit to the Umbridge house. Flicking his wand, he cast the memory into the pensieve. With a hiss of annoyance, Voldemort sprang from his chair. He roughly shoved Lucius out of the way as he submerged his face into the pensieve.

Voldemort traveled just to the right of and slightly above his servant Lucius in the now shared memory. Lucius had just apparated into the street in front of a garishly painted pink house with white gingerbread molding. Malfoy stormed towards the house with a swish of his robe, only to skid to a stop as his magical senses failed to register some of the wards he had erected for the house. Lucius drew his wand and muttered, "**_INCANTO REVEALIUS_**." He stared intently at the glowing glyphs that appeared and hovered in the air in front of him. Roughly half of the wards looked like they had not been triggered yet the other half had been shattered completely. Lucius found himself at a loss to come up with any way something like that could happen.

Voldemort watched as Lucius disarmed many of the wards still left, allowing only the ones keyed to those bearing the Dark Mark to stay in place. He cautiously approached the house, his wand at the ready. When he reached the front door, he found that it had been forced in rather than magically unlocked. Voldemort noticed that there were four deep gouge marks on the doorframe as they entered Umbridge's home.

The first thing Voldemort saw once inside the home was the pink paisley wallpaper that ran from floor to ceiling. Long shelves holding painted plates graced every wall. Each plate had a different picture of either a cat or kitten on it. As he looked around the room slowly, Voldemort saw several full water and food dishes, but no signs of any of the numerous cats Umbridge was known to own. His attention was drawn to the sitting room when he heard Lucius vomit forcefully. Voldemort stepped into the room and paused the memory to give him time to examine everything.

Like the rest of the house, this room was decorated with the plates and pink wallpaper. Much of that wallpaper was stained red with the blood that appeared to be splattered everywhere. Glancing upwards, he saw the spray patterns that could only come from arterial spurts. Voldemort stepped around a large, pink pillow covered in blood and gore that had been left in the middle of the room. He paused for a moment and then knelt next to the "pillow" when he realized it was Umbridge's torso in the tacky pink business suit she always wore. Her arms, legs, and head were missing.

Voldemort stood again and followed Lucius' gaze to a spot behind a couch under the large bay window. Umbridge's skull rested on the floor just behind the couch. The left half of her face was completely removed and Voldemort could see the clear signs that something large had been gnawing on it. Stepping closer, he was able to recognize the unique, narrow bite marks of a weevil. Stepping back in surprise, Voldemort looked at the room even closer. He walked around the room twice more, but found no other parts of the late Dolores Umbridge. "At least I know what happened to her cats," he muttered.

With a gasp, Voldemort withdrew his face out of the pensieve. "That was truly hideous," he muttered.

Lucius nodded in agreement. "I can't believe the opposition would stoop to killing Umbridge like that or had the magical talent to crush some of the wards and sneak past the others," he stated.

Voldemort gave Lucius a withering glance. "I was referring to the wallpaper," he told him. "And you're wrong, that wasn't the work of the boy or his supporters," he stated, not realizing it had been Jack who had sicced Janet on the unpleasant woman. Voldemort went back to petting Nagini before speaking again. "It would seem as that horrible toad of a woman somehow drew the attention of a weevil," he said as if that explained everything.

Lucius was very confused. "A weevil…" he repeated, never having heard of such a creature. "What type of monster is that?" he inquired.

Voldemort turned his snake like face towards Lucius. "A weevil is a visitor to this dimension from somewhere quite a bit less hospitable I would presume," he replied. "It is that otherworldly nature that I believe let it walk through Umbridge's defenses as if they weren't there," he lectured. "The last I knew, there were only a handful of them on Earth, so Umbridge must have been an extremely unlucky woman to run into one," he said. The corner of Voldemort's mouth quirked upwards in a half grin. "Or perhaps the beast was just passing by, saw the wallpaper, and simply wanted to do its host planet a favor," he joked. Lucius looked like he was about to be sick again at the memory of what had been done to Umbridge.

Voldemort shifted in his chair to stare at Bellatrix. "Now that we know Umbridge had the only excuse I will accept for ignoring a Floo message from my liaison, perhaps you would like to explain your failure at the Ministry," he suggested.

Bellatrix took a hesitant step forward. "Master, there was no way I could have known that the boy and his friends would rather commit suicide than face us," she stated, defending herself. "At least now you don't have to worry about any of them," she added hopefully.

Voldemort rubbed his face where the bridge of his nose would have been. "They are not dead. They are simply some other place in Time," he sighed as if trying to explain something to a very dense child. Bellatrix blinked a few times while she cocked her head to the side in confusion. Voldemort shook his head in disgust. He doubted that they would be able to grasp the concept that the Veil the Wizarding world had used to execute wizards and witches was actually an ancient Time Travel device developed by the Time Lords. "I'm sure the Doctor is working on a way to return the present as we speak," he sighed wearily.

A true smile spread across Voldemort's face as he realized the most powerful pieces the other side had were temporarily off of the playing board. "I will give you a chance to redeem yourselves," he told his servants. "Take all of the Death Eaters you can summon in half of an hour and attack the hovel of that irritating Weasley family," he ordered. He felt even more pleased with himself when he realized his daughter, Ginny, wouldn't be any when or where near there and safely out of harm's way. Just to be sure, he added, "Oh, and remember my orders concerning the Weasley girl. If any of you so much as harm a single hair on her, I will peel your skin off and keep you alive, suspended in a bath of lemon juice for many… painful years."

**********DrW**********

**The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole**

Lady Vastra prowled the cornfields that surrounded the Weasley family home. She had volunteered to keep watch on the perimeter of the Burrow due to her training and skills as one of the Silurian warrior caste. Though she was too far away to properly see, the pit organs on either side of her nose picked up the heat signatures of at least 30 humanoids suddenly appearing. Vastra looked over to the tall, leaning house and shouted out in her native language.

Jenny was standing in the open doorway at the front of the Burrow. Her lover was out in the cornfields keeping this interesting group of people safe. The time she spent here with them had made her change some of her thoughts about men, specifically that they were all crude animals deserving of nothing more than hate. She now believed that there were a few diamonds in the rough of manhood. Arthur Weasley had been more than generous in opening up his home to her and Vastra. The tall, skinny man known as Remus Lupin treated her and her reptilian, lesbian lover with even more kindness. Jenny had been so shocked by his behavior; she had actually asked him about it. Remus had given her a somewhat sad smile and told her he knew all too well what it felt like to be treated differently and shunned because you were different.

Jenny was musing over these thoughts when she heard the sibilant hisses of Lady Vastra. Though she couldn't reproduce many of the sounds, Jenny understood spoken Silurian perfectly. After hearing Vastra's warning, Jenny ran to the stairs and yelled, "Everyone up, we're under attack!"

Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange stood side by side as the rest of the Death Eaters fanned out to either side of them. Lucius waited to attack until he was able to make out the red hair of the Weasleys as they piled out into the front yard, their wands at the ready. "The Dark Lord has decreed that the Weasley family shall be an example to the rest of the Wizarding world to show what happens when someone harbors the boy or his friends!" he called out. Bellatrix hopped up and down excitedly and clapped her hands.

Arthur glared into the dark cornfields and tried to guess where Malfoy was. He thrust his hand forward, giving Malfoy a vulgar hand gesture. Molly placed her hand on her husband's arm and lowered it. Arthur looked sheepishly at his wife. "Sorry," he muttered.

Molly smiled at Arthur. "That's quite all right, dear," she replied. With her next breath, Molly stepped forward and gave an equally rude hand gesture. "Get bent, you ogre buggering bastards!" she screamed.

Lucius smiled and gave the order to destroy the Burrow. The combined force of that many blasting curses at once broke through the Burrow's wards and slammed into the top level, shattering it. Debris rained down, causing the New Order of the Phoenix to scatter. The Death Eaters sent forth another volley and managed to ignite the top levels of the ancient home.

The Death Eaters were so focused on first blasting away the wards and then picking their individual targets, they didn't notice their numbers were ever so slowly starting to dwindle. The last Death Eater on Lucius' side was yanked off of his feet from behind and drug into the corn rows without a sound. The next dark wizard in row slumped forward when Vastra's tongue slammed into his neck, the neurotoxin in her venom paralyzing him.

As the Order members scrambled for cover, the Death Eaters broke apart to follow and kill their quarry. Curses and hexes flew everywhere as the Order did their best to fight back. The din of the battle was so loud that none of the participants heard the TARDIS landing square on top of Molly's vegetable garden.

The TARDIS opened and the twins stuck out their heads to see where they had landed. They gave each other a high five when they saw the Doctor managed to squish the vegetables on this landing. Their merriment ended when the orange and yellow light of the Burrow on fire drew their attention. "Noooo!" they screamed in unison. The occupants of the TARDIS raced out to join in the battle.

Molly Weasley squared her shoulders in defiance when she ended up being cornered by three Death Eaters. One of their hexes had gotten through her shields and knocked her wand out of her hand. The Death Eaters laughed as they closed in on her. "No one here to save you, filthy blood-traitor," one of them said as he leveled his wand at her chest.

A metallic sounding voice coming from behind him interrupted the Death Eater. "That is an incorrect statement based upon faulty information gathering skills," it chided him. The Death Eater spun around and froze when he saw a metal _dog_ floating a few feet above the ground. A red beam shot from K-9's nose and stunned the Death Eater before he could say another word.

The second Death Eater facing Molly experienced a sudden excruciating pain in his leg as Ginny kicked through his knee, snapping his leg in several places. She grabbed his wand arm and wrenched it upwards. Ginny followed through with a punch into his armpit that shoved his shoulder out of socket. She finished venting her anger at seeing someone threaten her mother by grabbing the dark wizard's head and pulling it down into her knee as she drove it skywards. Letting the unconscious enemy slip to the ground, she watched the remaining threat against her mother be thrown into the cornfield as Hermione shouted, "_STUPEFY!_"

Hermione continued to run towards Molly, but changed course when K-9 suddenly dropped to the ground. "K-9, did you get hit?" she asked as soon as she knelt down next to the robotic dog.

"Negative, mistress," K-9 replied. "Massive distortions in the quantum fields in this area is causing fluctuations in my phasic processors," he explained. The Doctor's dog knew he would be no use to anyone if he allowed his processors to fry, killing him. "Shutting down to prevent catastrophic failure of my neural network," he announced and then went silent. The red lights of his eyes faded as he shut down.

Hermione knew that technology rarely worked within the presence of magic. It was only the fact that Time Lord technology was so far advanced and as Clarke put it, "Indistinguishable from magic," that allowed the Doctor's sonic screwdriver to work. She guessed that K-9 must have been put together using less advanced technology. Standing, Hermione frowned as she saw how many Death Eaters there were. She pocketed her wand and drew out the sonic pistol that Jack had given to her. Hermione was able to pull the trigger and move onto another target far quicker than the wand flicks and verbal incantations necessary for spells took. She vowed to take up Jack on his offer to teach her how to shoot as it often took two or three shots to strike her targets. Jack joined her in shooting, his pistol having recharged during their trip to Camelot. Eventually they ran out of targets on their side of the home.

Lucius hung back from the fight, disturbed at how things had changed. From out of nowhere, help had arrived for the Order and had managed to turn the tide. Deciding he could blame this failure on Bellatrix somehow, he turned to flee. Malfoy froze as he looked at the reptilian woman standing behind him, her sword drawn, the tip hovering a hair's breadth from his throat.

"The only thing keeping you alive right now is the Doctor's request that I not kill anyone," Vastra hissed at Lucius. She glanced down at the wand Lucius was still holding. "However, he did say that if it came down to it, I could use deadly force to defend myself or someone else," she said slowly. Lucius wisely kept his wand pointed at the ground.

Vastra stepped closer to Malfoy, always keeping her sword ready to separate his head from his shoulders. Eventually, her mouth was next to his ear. "Before you leave, I want you to understand one thing," she told him. "If you ever attack my friends again, I will have you for dinner… and I do so love white meat," she promised and let her forked tongue slide across his pale cheek, tasting him. Satisfied Lucius had gotten her message, Vastra stepped back and moved her sword away slightly. He took the opportunity she granted and apparated away.

On the other side of the Burrow, Tonks knelt next to a wounded Remus as she examined the large tear in his leg. A piece of wood from the exploding Burrow had embedded itself in his thigh. She had managed to stop most of the bleeding, but Remus was unable to walk. Ace stood next to them, doing her best to blast anything that popped its head out of the cornfields surrounding them. Ace's "wand" spun out of her hand as a crazy sounding voice yelled, "_** EXPELLIARMUS!**_"

Bellatrix skipped happily towards Tonks, Remus, and Ace. As Tonks reached for the wand she had put down to tend to her husband's wounds, Bellatrix flicked her own wand and sent Tonk's skidding out of her reach. "How sweet," Bellatrix taunted as she pointed her wand at her enemies. "My master will be so pleased with me when I tell him who I got to kill tonight," she told them. "It's too bad my _dear_ Muggle loving cousin couldn't be here to see me kill his remaining Marauder friend and the woman he loved," she pouted.

Tonks bent down to cover her husband's body with her own when a dark shape leapt out of the cornrow nearest them and sailed over her head. A huge black dog with blood dripping from its jowls landed in between Bellatrix and the Order members. The dog let out a warning growl that left no room for interpretation.

Bellatrix stared at the dog I horror. "No… it can't be. You're dead. I killed you!" she complained loudly and stomped her foot in frustration. The dog replied by growling even louder. Bellatrix's eyes widen in fear and like Lucius she turned around to flee. Her path was blocked by the strange man she had witnessed dancing with the mudblood at Hogwarts' Halloween ball. A man her master referred to as "the Doctor."

Despite herself, Bellatrix took a frightened step backwards. The cold, powerful look in this man's eyes was identical to the man she loved with all of her heart and soul. She understood now why Voldemort had told them not to underestimate this so called, "Doctor". Bellatrix gain controlled of her fear and smiled at the Doctor. "Perhaps you are a worthy adversary for my master," she said sweetly.

"Wrong Time Lord," the Doctor scolded her. "I suggest you leave before you find out why I am called the 'Oncoming Storm'," he suggested, fighting to keep his anger in check. Bellatrix took another step back in fear, unable to look away from the cold eyes that were the same as her lord's. This Doctor was even able to put the same hint of devastating power into his voice that Voldemort did on a regular basis. Without a word, Bellatrix apparated back to Malfoy Manor, grateful to have survived the encounter.

The large, black dog snorted dismissively once towards where Bellatrix had been standing and turned around to face Tonks, Remus, and Ace who had dropped to her knees in shock. Remus was the first one able to find his voice. "Sirius… is it really you?" he begged. In answer, the black dog walked towards him, lifted his leg, and peed on the shoe of Remus' good leg. Remus burst out laughing in joy. "It is you!" he exclaimed through his pain.

Sirius walked over to Ace. She grabbed a hold of Sirius and buried her head in his fur, sobbing in relief. Sirius shifted form and knelt next to Ace in his black leather armor. He lifted Ace's chin up gently to look at him. When their eyes met, Ace threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with all of the love they shared. Once they finally had to stop for air, Ace looked over Sirius' shoulder at the Doctor. "Thank you, Doctor," she said softly, every word full of love and gratitude. She had decided on using the name he preferred to go by as a show of respect.

Sirius suddenly leaned away from his fiancé and spun to look at the Doctor. He pointed a finger at the man he knew as Merlin. "That's _your_ Doctor?" he asked in disbelief.

Ace smiled broadly at the Doctor. "Yep, that's my Professor, all right," she assured Sirius before kissing his stunned face again.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole**

The Doctor ignored Sirius' outburst and stared in cold determination at the spot where Bellatrix had been just a moment before. "Who was that woman?" he asked slowly of no one in particular.

Sirius held onto Ace's hand as he stood up. "Lord Merlin… er… Professor… ah, what exactly should I call you?" he inquired, still in a bit of shock. Even though he had grown quite skilled at rolling with the punches in both combat and court intrigue, Sirius was still a bit shell shocked at learning the great wizard was also the alien foster father of his fiancé.

"Doctor will be just fine," the Doctor replied without turning to look at Sirius, his attention still focused on where Bellatrix had been.

Forcing himself not to add any kind of honorific, Sirius answered the Doctor's earlier question. "That mentally deranged… _woman_is my cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange." Sirius sighed wearily, sick to his stomach that he was related to her. "She is the Dark Lord's most fanatical follower," he stated. "Her blind devotion makes her the closest thing he-who-has-no-nose has to a second in command," he added.

The Doctor nodded his head once. "Well, that explains a lot," he muttered to himself. The Doctor spun around suddenly and took stock of the injuries to his friends and the damage to the Burrow.

Tonk's urgent plea drew his attention to her and Remus. "Doctor, Remus is hurt. Can you do anything?" she begged.

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair before responding. "I'm not that kind of Doctor, I'm afraid," he admitted.

Jack heard that last bit as he jogged over to where everyone was congregating. "You know, I've always wanted to ask you about that," he stated. "What exactly are you a doctor of?" he inquired.

The Doctor turned an annoyed glance towards Jack. "Lots of things. In fact, I have more PhDs than Sheldon Cooper," he replied.

"Who?" Harry asked.

The Doctor made a dismissive wave of his hand. "An old friend, but that's not important," he replied. Looking around the group, the Doctor asked, "Are there any hospitals in the area we can send him?"

Remus grit his teeth as a wave of pain swept up his leg. Tonks felt him tense up and held onto him that much tighter. "There's St. Mungo's in London, but the Death Eaters have the hospital under constant surveillance," she replied. "There is a private hospital near Hogsmeade, but the healers there demand payment up front," she told him.

Sirius stood up and walked over to Remus and looked down sternly at his old friend. "I know you still remember my Gringots account number and password," he stated. "You WILL use it pay for any and all treatments associated with your injuries, no matter the cost," he commanded, slipping back into his role as a feudal knight.

Harry stepped next to Sirius and also looked down at the injured werewolf. "All this time you had access to Sirius' money and you never touched a coin?" he asked in wonder. Harry knew his godfather would be angry that his best friend was near penniless when he could have used Sirius' money to ease his burden.

Remus looked embarrassedly up at Harry and Remus. "The money belongs to you now Harry, and I didn't want to impose," he admitted.

Lady Vastra had joined the group and leaned over to her lover, Jenny. "This is why the Silurians leave war and finance to women. We're much more practical," she whispered.

Harry overheard Vastra and tried not to smile. He failed to smother it when an idea popped into his head. "Mr. Lupin, as acting head of House Black, I hereby appoint you as permanent tutor for Defense Against the Dark Arts," he said formally. "As your recent injuries stem from your service to House Black, I order you to go to the healers and have them charge whatever you need to our account," he stated. Knowing Remus was about to argue, Harry cut him off and ended the argument before it could begin. "Auror Tonks, will you please escort Mr. Lupin there immediately?" he requested.

Tonks blinked backs tears of relief and mouthed, "Thanks twerp," before apparating both Remus and her to the private healers.

The Doctor led his friends over to the other side of the house where the Weasleys were huddled together, watching their family home go up in flames. Arthur had his arm draped comfortingly across his wife as she cried. "Hush now Molly, our children are all safe," he reminded her. The Doctor walking towards them drew his attention and made him smile a bit. "And thanks to our rather unique financial planner, we have plenty of money to rebuild once this bloody war is finally over," he promised.

Molly took in a long, shuddering breath to regain control over herself. "You're right, my love. The important thing is our children are safe," she agreed. She turned her tear streaked eyes towards the flaming ruin that had been the Burrow. "We need to focus on the future, like figuring out where we are going to live in the meantime," she stated.

Sirius let go of Ace's hand and walked up behind Arthur and Molly. He placed a friendly hand on their shoulders. "I'm sure the acting Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black will agree with me when I say that 12 Grimmauld Place will always be open to you," he said, winking at Harry. "It will do the place good to have a real, loving family in residence," he added.

Harry nodded energetically. "I do agree," he stated. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, you always opened up your home to me no matter how dangerous it was," he told them. "Letting you stay at Grimmauld Place will only be a small start to me repaying you for all of the kindness and love you've shown me," he said firmly.

Molly sighed in relief and hugged Harry. She turned sharply when she heard Ron snickering. Ron was pointing to Hermione who had just come out of the cornfield carrying the inert K-9. "Good job 'Mione, you broke your boyfriend's dog," Ron teased.

Hermione glared at Ron while she continued to carry K-9 over to the Doctor. "I did not break K-9!" she replied angrily. "He shut himself down," she added. Once she was next to the Doctor, she gently placed the robotic dog on the ground. "Doctor, before K-9 shut down, he said something about massive distortions in the quantum fields," she relayed.

The Doctor smacked his forehead and turned around in a complete circle before speaking. "Of course, I should have realized magic might interfere with his circuits," he berated himself.

Hermione saw Jack raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Magic and technology don't mix," she simplified. "The more advanced one is, the worse it reacts with other," she explained. "Trust me, I would have killed for a word processor during school," she admitted.

Jack nodded in understanding, but then looked perplexed again. "OK that makes sense, but how come my sonic pistol and his sonic screwdriver work?" he inquired.

The Doctor looked up from K-9 and smiled at Jack. "At some point in the future, the equations that describe the differences in magic and technology converge at what has come to be called the 'Clarke's Point'," he stated. "It's the point in history where technology is indistinguishable from magic," he explained. "To be perfectly honest, I had always thought it was simply a theoretical point, since I didn't know magic like theirs was possible," he mused. He purposefully dodged around the bit concerning the fact that the Time Lords were responsible for banishing most of the magic from this universe.

Ron had drifted over to Harry and nudged his friend in the side. "He and Hermione are perfect for each other," he stated while the Doctor lectured. Harry grinned while watching his future father-in-law and thought the same thing.

The Doctor ignored Ron and turned his attention back to K-9. "The original K-9 was built by a human scientist before your kind reaches the Clarke's Point," he stated. "I've rebuilt him three times now and always copied the original designs for his central processors," he admitted. The Doctor looked thoughtfully down at his old friend. "Perhaps it's time I gave you a full upgrade," he mused. The Doctor knelt next to K-9 and asked in a higher pitched voice, "Would you like that boy? Huh? Would you like an upgrade?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and had to point out the obvious. "He's turned off, Doctor. I doubt he can hear you," she stated.

The Doctor stood suddenly and cocked his head slightly. "I knew that," he lied. He bent down again and picked up his faithful dog. "We'll meet everybody at this 12 Grimmauld Place," he said before walking off towards the TARDIS.

Jack looked over at Hermione, giving her a knowing grin. "He has absolutely no idea where he's going, does he?" he asked needlessly.

Hermione shook her head no and hurried to catch up with the Doctor. Jack and the students Luna followed so they wouldn't have to rely on someone else to apparate them to the Black Family home. Vastra and Jenny had already come to the same conclusion and were waiting at the TARDIS for the Doctor to arrive and unlock it.

**12 Grimmauld Place**

As soon as Sirius had apparated with Ace to his old home, he sent Kreacher off to the market to buy supplies to feed a house full of people. The appearance of his master back from the dead had so surprised the old House Elf that he barely managed a single, snide complaint before popping off to do as he was told. Soon the other older wizards and witches apparated in, each holding what little they could salvage from the Burrow. After that, the now familiar wheezing / grinding noises of the TARDIS landing came from the stairs. The blue box materialized on the landing between the first and second floors, completely blocking the magical portrait of Walburga Black.

Sirius smiled from ear to ear as he was barely able to make out his mother's muted complaints. "What's that mother, I can't hear you," he taunted.

Eventually, everyone assembled in the large living room. Unlike the last time the New Order of the Phoenix had met here, they only had to knock off a little dust before they could all find a place to sit. Fred and George hopped up to sit on the back of a large couch next to the grand piano. They ignored their mother's disapproving glare, but acknowledged Sirius' approving grin with ones of their own. George let his eyes wander around the room and glanced over at a love seat where Harry and Ginny were sitting. A flash of red, reflected light caught his attention and he nudged his twin to get Fred's attention.

Fred looked over at Ginny and saw the same thing George had. Never being one to ignore the opportunity for mischief, he cleared his throat and pointed at Ginny's left hand. "What have you got there on your hand, little sister?" he teased.

George added, "Silly girl, you're only supposed to wear engagement rings on that finger." Ginny's expertly aimed throw pillow hit him right in the face, causing George to fall of the back of the couch.

Ginny took in a deep breath and looked at Molly and Arthur. Before she could say anything, Sirius strode into the center of the room. He smiled at first Harry and Ginny and then at Molly and Arthur. "Molly, Arthur, as sword brother, it is my honor to announce that Sir Harry has asked the Lady Ginny for her hand in marriage," he said formally.

"And of course I said yes," Ginny told her parents. "We plan on setting a date as soon as the war is over," she informed them.

Arthur and Molly wordlessly looked at each other. It took them a moment to remember that their "16 year old" daughter was in fact over 25 years old. That fact combined with the knowledge that Harry was going to be their son-in-law that swayed them. After another long, silent moment, Arthur and Molly stood up and walked over to Harry. With a quick tug on his arm, Arthur jerked Harry to his feet. Before he could react, Harry found himself smothered in a hug between the Weasleys. "You had better start calling us 'Mum and Dad' then," Molly told him, between tears of joy. Ginny jumped off the love seat and joined in the group hug.

Hermione was glad the Weasleys were happy about finding out that Harry had made it official and would soon be their son-in-law. She turned her head and what she saw nearly broke her heart. The Doctor was standing in the door way leading into the living room. He was watching everything with a distant, wistful smile on his lips- forever watching things from the outside. He motioned for Arthur to come over and speak with him.

Once Arthur joined the Doctor, the old alien jerked his head over towards where Harry and Ginny where standing. "I know that Ginny having two fathers might complicate the ceremony a bit," he stated. "Just so we are both on the same page from the beginning, I would like you to walk our daughter down the aisle, Arthur," he told him.

Arthur blinked his eyes a few times before responding. "Are you sure about that, Doctor?" he inquired.

The Doctor put his hand on Arthur's shoulder and leaned his head towards the other man. "Arthur, you gave my daughter something I was never able to... a childhood," he reminded him. "The honor of walking her down the aisle belongs to you, my friend," he said firmly. The Doctor forced a smile on his face so that no one other than Jack would know that he didn't plan on still being alive after the war with Voldemort was over.

Hermione stood up and walked over to the Doctor. She silently slipped her hand in his and gave it a quick squeeze. The Doctor looked down at their joined hands and then into Hermione's eyes. The love he saw there almost stopped both his hearts. He leaned over slightly and kissed her forehead.

Arthur smiled in thanks at the Doctor and then looked back at his family. Once he looked at Harry again, the full importance of what Sirius had said popped to the forefront of his mind. "Um, Doctor, what did Sirius mean by sword brothers?" he asked. "And why is he calling Harry 'Sir Harry'?" he added.

"They were both knighted by Arthur Pendragon," the Doctor replied in an offhand manner.

Arthur swallowed hard. To him it sounded like the Doctor was describing just an ordinary, routine occurrence. Chills went down his spine as he realized that to the Doctor, it probably was. It was also quite probable that his daughter was going to end up living her life just like his. Arthur wandered back over to his family, his mind numb from trying to grasp exactly what a Time Lord was.

The festivities were interrupted by the arrival Kreacher as he popped into existence in the room. He was holding a freshly purchased tea set (not wanting to soil the good set with Muggle born contact.) "As you requested, _Master _Black, tea for the blood traitors and Muggle born," Kreacher spat out. He turned his head slowly so he could sneer at the people his beloved Mistress would have sent flying out of their house. When he finally got around to looking at the Doctor, he dropped the tea set to the ground in shock, smashing the cheap porcelain. Kreacher screeched in anger and then spun around to glare at Sirius. "What is that… that… abomination doing in the Mistress' house?" he demanded. "How could young Master let something so unnatural in the house so loved by his dear, dear mother?" he yelled.

Jack got up from the couch and started to walk into the other room. He made eye contact with Sirius and gave him a sad smile. "I'll leave," Jack offered. "I get that reaction sometimes," he told his host. Jack was glad when he saw the look of embarrassment on the Doctor's face.

Kreacher rolled his eyes at Jack. "Not you!" he insisted. "You are just a fixed point in space and time," he told Jack. "Kreacher gets woozy when he looks at you, but you don't sicken him like he does," he spat, turning to point a long, skinny finger at the Doctor. "Kreacher refuses to be here as long as Wormhole is here!" he decreed and popped out of existence.

Sirius looked around the room at his friends and tried to smile. "Please forgive Kreacher, he was never the same after my mother passed away," he apologized. Sirius found a real smile and nodded towards the Doctor. "However, I must admit that was rather strange, even for him," he added.

Hermione cocked her head to the side as she ran through what she knew of House Elf idioms. "Wormhole?" she muttered. "That's an odd choice for what I assume was meant to be an insult," she mused out loud. She looked up suddenly as she felt the Doctor's hand tremble as he leaned against the doorframe for support. "Doctor, are you all right?" she asked him softly.

The Doctor shook his head like he was trying to clear his mind. "I haven't been called 'Wormhole' in close to 900 years," he told Hermione. "It was nickname my cousins in the House of Lungbarrow used to make fun of me," he explained.

Harry walked over to the Doctor to offer his support. He knew exactly how it felt to have others call you degrading names while you grew up. "Why did they call you 'Wormhole'?" he inquired.

The Doctor smirked at Harry's question. "I have a navel," he replied.

"A naval what?" Ron blurted out.

George slapped Ron across the back of his head. "He means a belly-button, you twit," he scolded his younger brother.

The Doctor felt everyone's eyes on him. "Time Lords couldn't reproduce naturally, so a great machine was built that housed thousands of artificial wombs," he told them. "It was called 'The Loom' and ever since the three founders of Time Lord society set things in motion, all Time Lord children come from it," he stated. "Since the process is artificial, the children do not have navels," he explained.

"But you do?" Hermione asked for clarification.

"Yes, but it's a strange story as to why," the Doctor replied. "Just a bit after the dawn of our civilization, something happened between two of the founders, Rassilon and one we only know as the Other," he stated. "Things became so bad, the Other threw himself into the loom, vowing to return someday," he said. The Doctor ran his free hand through his hair. "After a very, very long time, the Loom recreated the Other as a child, right down to his belly-button," he told them.

The Doctor squeezed Hermione's hand and looked into her eyes. "I'm the Doctor, but I was once someone else – someone who's memories I only have small fragments of," he told her. "Pretty much all I managed to retain were subconscious feelings, like how I knew I was once married to a woman named Patience and how I always felt the great Rassilon was a complete git," he Doctor frowned as he tried to make sense of things. "What I don't understand is how a House Elf from Earth would know the name I was teased with as a child," he stated.


	15. Chapter 15

**12 Grimmauld Place**

As Hermione used the Doctor's sonic screwdriver to fuse the last connection inside K-9, she thought about how she had spent the past three weeks since the Battle of the Burrow. Truth be told, the past few weeks had been some of the happiest times she could remember since the start of the magical civil war. Hermione glanced out of the corner of her eye to watch the person who had made things so special for her... a nearly millennium old alien who still got flustered whenever she managed to sneak in a quick snog.

The Doctor had insisted that Hermione help him rebuild K-9. He had been patient and explained everything they were doing to his robotic pet. Luckily for Hermione, Advanced Quantum theory was similar enough to Advanced Magical theory that she was able to follow along well. When they weren't working on his robotic dog, the Doctor taught her High Gallifreyan, the language of the Time Lords.

The Doctor leaned over Hermione's shoulder and examined her work. "You're really getting the hang of using that screwdriver," he complimented her.

Hermione smiled at the praise and handed him back the tool. "It's almost as useful as a wand," she teased. "So when do I get my own sonic screwdriver?" she inquired playfully. Hermione wasn't expecting the sad, far away expression he gave her in response to her question.

The Doctor shook himself out of his painful memories and forced a smile on his face. "Some day that is hopefully far, far in the future," he replied cryptically. Wanting to change the subject, the Doctor pointed at K-9. "Before we reconnect his power supply, why don't you tell me what we changed inside my old friend, hum?" he suggested.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Doctor. We've been working on K-9 for nearly 3 weeks," she sighed. "Do we really have to go over this again?" she asked.

The Doctor gently put his hand on her shoulder. "There may come a time when I'm nowhere near and you have to repair the old dog yourself, so humour me," he insisted.

Hermione sighed and started pointing towards different things in K-9's interior. "We've replaced his crystalline power pathways with plasma conduits that carry a quantumly neutral plasma. Having a neutral charge should keep K-9 from shorting out near everyday magic," she told the Doctor. She tapped several small cubes attached to the conduits at various points. The cubes had a second set of conduits that ran to a cylinder just under K-9's neck. "If K-9 is exposed to high levels of magic, these phasic dampers shunt the excess energy to the probability capacitor," she said. "K-9 can use the stored energy to either power up a null entropy field around his processors or overcharge his weapon system," she stated. Hermione pointed to a cylinder that was mounted vertically near K-9's tail. "And that is a blatant rip-off from 'Return of the Jedi'," she pointed out. Hermione grinned as she realized that thanks to her Muggle upbringing, she was probably the only witch at school who would get the reference.

The Doctor double checked the sealed cylinder. "I thought it was a neat trick and you never know when I might need something like that," he countered, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. He poked and prodded around the inside of K-9 until he was satisfied everything was connected to Hermione's usual standard of excellence. "Looks good," he stated and resealed the exterior panel. He grabbed a large cable than ran to the TARDIS' control panel and attached the free end to a port under K-9's collar. "We'll leave him to charge for a couple of hours and then switch him on," he said.

Hermione glanced at an old clock strapped to the underside of the control console. Her face lit up when she saw they had finished early. "I promised Jack that I would practice in the dungeon with him after lunch, but that's still a couple of hours from now," she told him. Once Jack had seen Remus' Pyramid of Pain, he had insisted that Remus make a practice wand in the shape of a sonic pistol. It took both Remus and Hermione to come up with a way of enchanting the new practice pistol so that it shot out a spell when the trigger was pulled instead of a verbal incantation. After the practice pistol was built, Jack worked with Hermione every night on improving her aim and other firearm skills. "But with these extra hours before lunch, Ginny and I should be able to finish that potion we were working on," she said happily.

"What type of potion are my two favorite women in the universe concocting this time?" the Doctor asked playfully.

Hermione basked in the warmth of what he said for an instant before answering him. "We've been looking through Sirius' library and found some potion books that were banned at Hogwarts. In one of them we found a potion that induces a hypnotic state in the recipient," she replied. "What's really interesting about this potion is that it's absorbed through the skin instead of ingested like most other potions," she added.

The Doctor loved how Hermione's eyes lit up when she got excited about learning something. Lucky for him, that happened very frequently. "If it's a contact potion, you and Ginny must have to be very careful with it or risk hypnotizing yourselves," he pointed out while he brushed his finger down the bridge of her nose.

Hermione glanced from side to side as if she was making sure they were alone so she could let him in on a secret. "That's the brilliant bit about this recipe," she stated. "The person brewing the potion has to add a drop of their blood near the beginning so that the potion keys to them, making it not work on them," she explained. "The blood also makes it so that the person who brewed it is the only one who can make suggestions when the victim is hypnotized," she added. "The only thing Ginny and I have to figure out is a way to deliver the potion in way that people won't suspect," she told him. Both young women had realized the tactical benefit a potion like that would have in the war against Voldemort.

The Doctor started chuckling and then laughing out rite when he realized what Hermione was describing. River had used it on several occasions. Hermione cocked her head to the side and waited for the Doctor to finish. "Beeswax," the Doctor said simply.

Hermione thought for a moment and then clapped her hands in excitement. "Of course, hypnotic lipstick!" she shouted. Hermione raced forward, kissed the Doctor on the lips, and then ran out of the TARDIS to tell Ginny what they had come up with. The Doctor chuckled to himself as he adjusted the power flow to K-9 and wondered just how many men he had condemned to being tricked by River Song.

It was mid-afternoon before the Doctor saw Hermione again. She and Jack came up from the Black family dungeon with Hermione looking pleased and Jack looking a little disturbed. Jack walked over to the Doctor and whispered, "Trust me when I tell you that you never want to piss her off."

The Doctor had already come that conclusion long ago, but he wanted to see what Jack was talking about. "Go on," he suggested.

Jack looked over his shoulder at Hermione and wondered about what he was helping create. "I'm going to have to have Remus reset the safeties on the pyramid again," he told the Doctor. "She's already to the point where she is able to take on three Death Eaters by herself," he stated. "I wouldn't be surprised if she makes it up to five," he mused.

The Doctor smiled as he remembered flirting with River in the Silences' ship. "Actually, it's seven," he corrected Jack. "Eight if she's trying to impress me," he added. "That really shouldn't turn me on, but I can't help it," he admitted in a whisper to his dear friend.

Jack nearly choked and let out a sharp, bark like laugh. Everyone turned to look at him, but he waved them away while saying, "Don't ask."

Jack and the Doctor were spared from having to explain themselves by a high pitched squeal from the living room fireplace. Sirius ran to the fireplace and called out, "Some one's trying to force a connection on the private floo." The rest followed him into the living room and saw a green tornado struggling to form in the fireplace.

When the swirling cloud flashed gold and red for an instant, Harry made a snap decision. "Open the connection," he ordered. Sirius looked at Harry for a brief moment and decided to trust his godson's instincts. He put his hand on the stone mantel and whispered the passwords that would connect the floos.

The floo cloud was finally able to form the green vortex that allowed communication between two floos. The cloud shifted again and blossomed into the form of Neville Longbottom's face. Even though it was just a shape made out of smoke, everyone could make out Neville's black eyes and swollen lip. Harry knelt down in front of the fireplace. The face relaxed when Neville saw Harry's face on his side of the connection. "Thank god, I found you, Harry!" he swore.

"What's happened, Neville?" Harry demanded. "Who beat you up?" he inquired, vowing silently to pay back who ever had done that to his friend.

Neville reached up and touched his swollen lip gingerly. "The Carrows took turns working on me after I got detention for trying to stand up for Prof. McGonagall," he told them proudly. "Harry, the Carrows finally got tired of Prof. McGonagall trying to protect the students and had her shipped off to Azkaban," he told a shocked Harry. Neville looked over his shoulder at something and then back into the fireplace, his face worried. "The Carrows are coming to lead me to an extra detention," he explained quickly. "Harry, you and the Doctor need to save Prof. McGonagall. I don't want to think about what they're doing to her there!" he pleaded. Neville's head snapped around to look over his shoulder once again and then his hand swept through the floo cloud, severing the connection.

Harry jumped up to his feet, his face flushed with anger. "I'm going to tear down Azkaban brick by brick if I have to!" he swore. He looked up at the Doctor when the old alien put his hand on the young wizard's shoulder.

"No you won't, Harry," the Doctor ordered. "It's obviously a trap. The Brickyard knows you and knows that you'll risk anything to protect those you love," he pointed out. "I'm sure he has every available Death Eater laying in wait for you there," he added.

Harry angrily brushed the Doctor's hand off his shoulder. "Are you saying we should just leave Prof. McGonagall to rot there?" he demanded. Harry swallowed hard when he saw the hard look in the Doctor's eyes. It was the same look that had sent whole armies packing. It was to Harry's credit that even though his insides felt weak, he stood his ground against the Doctor.

The Doctor finally relaxed a bit and gave Harry a small smile. "Not at all, Harry," he said. "All I'm saying is that _you_won't be the one to break her out," he told the young man gently.

Ginny stepped up to her father and boyfriend and took Harry's hand. "The Doctor's right, Harry," she told him.

Harry squeezed Ginny's hand, but he wasn't about to concede defeat yet. "I can't just sit here while someone else risks their life to do something that I should," he countered.

Vastra had listened to the conversation and walked into the center of the room to gain everyone's attention. She had heard about the hellish prison from their host at Grimmauld Place and a plan was forming in her mind. "Nor would any of us expect you to," she said simply.

Jack grinned at Vastra. "I know that look," he said. "You're up to something," he pointed out.

Vastra nodded her head. "Whomever we send to rescue your friend will be facing terrible odds unless we cause a large enough distraction somewhere else to draw away the extra Death Eaters," she stated.

The Doctor leaned towards Vastra, intensely curious as to her plan. "What do you have in mind?" he inquired.

Vastra smiled, something that gave her reptilian face a frightening aspect. "Not only does this Voldemort fellow know how Harry will react, he knows how you will as well, Doctor," she said. "We will do something that is not in either of your natures. We will take revenge on them, strike out to hurt them like they have hurt us," she told the group. "They took one of the Order of the Pheonix, so we shall remove a Death eater from the midst," she explained. "I think one or both of those barbaric Carrows the boy in the fireplace spoke of will do nicely," she added, licking her lips.

The Doctor saw her hungry expression and put his foot down. "I won't allow any one to be killed if we can avoid it," he told her strongly.

Vastra pretended to pout before responding to the Doctor. "Fine, we let the prisoners live," she conceded. "Other than that, do you see any faults in my plan?" she pressed.

The Doctor thought for a moment and then said, "The only thing I can think of is the trouble taking care of a prisoner will be." He guessed what Vastra was thinking and added, "No, eating them is not acceptable."

Vastra nodded to the Doctor. "Of course, old friend," she replied. "As to taking care of a prisoner, I know the perfect place to put them so they won't be a bother to us and won't be able to break out," she bragged. "As many of you have figured out, my kind prefers our meals to still be alive as we eat them," she stated. "Underneath the stasis chamber where my sisters and I slept is a separate chamber used for keeping livestock in suspended animation in case we felt peckish when we were revived," she said. "As far as I know, it was undamaged when the main stasis chamber was violated," she told them.

Jack clapped his hands and rubbed them together in anticipation of mischief. "So what you're suggesting is we snatch some of the bad guys and toss them in the fridge for later," he paraphrased. Vastra simply nodded in response. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I love this plan," he said happily.

The Doctor had yet to be convinced. "How stable were your livestock stasis chambers?" he asked.

"Not quite as stable as the ones we used for ourselves," she admitted. "After about 4,000 years, the subject's neural pathways began to degrade," she told him. "However, I doubt anyone we place in there will be there for that long," she said.

The Doctor thought things over and then nodded his head. "Right, sounds reasonable," he conceded. He spun around and pointed at various people. "Vastra, Jenny, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione," he called out. "You five go to Hogwarts, kidnapped the Carrows, and make enough noise to draw off some of the Death Eaters from Azkaban," he ordered. "I'll lead the other team to break out Prof. McGonagall," he said. The ones he had pointed to nodded their heads and then broke away from the rest of the group to makes plans for assaulting Hogwarts.

The Doctor turned around and pointed at the twins and then Jack. "Since I don't care about breaking anything at the prison, you three will be the perfect team to help me," he laughed. The twins gave each other a high five and Jack winked suggestively at both of them.

Ron stood up from the couch he was sitting on. "What about me? I'm not useless!" he asked indignantly.

The Doctor turned to look at Ron. "Sorry, Mickey... I mean Ron," he corrected himself. "You, Luna, and Sirius will act as magical backup for Ace as she gets the stasis chambers on line," he stated. He had actually forgotten about Ron, but had already planned on sending Ace and Sirius to keep Sirius from having to go back to the prison that had stripped so much from him. The Doctor caught Ace's eye as she mouthed the words, "Thank you," to him.

Hermione came back to the main group and grabbed the Doctor's hand. "The sooner my team leaves, the sooner yours can rescue prof. McGonagall," she told him. "All though I am a little nervous about letting you out of my sight," she joked.

The Doctor smirked and said, "Don't worry. The Universe's best prison escape expert will be with me," he assured her.

Hermione misinterpreted what he was saying and looked over at Jack. "You better watch out for him!" she ordered. Jack stood at attention and saluted her. Hermione smiled at him, assured Jack would look after her boyfriend. She stood on her toes, kissed the doctor's ear, and whispered, "Be careful, my love."

The Doctor pulled her to him for a warm hug. "And you do the same, my beautiful Gryffindor," he whispered into her hair.

Hermione stepped back after the Doctor loosened his arms,and turned look at her team. "Let's get this over with," she instructed. Hermione walked over to the fireplace, threw in some floo powder, and said, "The Hog's Head Inn, basement floo." She stepped into the green flames and was whisked away to Hogsmeade. Ginny demonstrated how to use the floo powder to Vastra and Jenny and then went herself after the Victorian couple disappeared.

Before Harry used the powder, he stopped to look the Doctor in the eyes. "Bring her back in one piece, please Doctor," he begged and then disappeared into the green flames.

The Doctor motioned for his team to come over to him. Jack, George, and Fred hurried over to join him, smiles on their faces. When they were standing next to the Doctor, Remus' breath caught in his throat as he recognized the smiles the four men were wearing. It was the same smile James, Sirius, Peter, and he got whenever they were plotting mischief so many years ago. He tipped an imaginary hat to them as he muttered, "Welcome to the New Marauders."

The Doctor looked at each member of his team and then said loudly, "You can come out of the closet now!"

Jack shook his head in amusement. "Sorry, Doc, but I was never in the closet in the..." he started to say before he was interrupted from a voice coming from a closet near the door.

"I hate it when you do that!" a woman's voice said as the closet door opened. A woman dressed in tight black pants and a white jacket stepped out.

"No you don't," the Doctor countered, his face smug.

Jack stared with his mouth open. He finally managed to choke out, "River? What are you doing here?"

River Song walked confidently to where her lover and his friends stood. "You heard the Doctor. He promised me the Universe's best person at breaking out of prisoners would help him, so here I am," she said, her face as smug as the Doctor's. "Excuse me for a moment," she said and then kissed the Doctor passionately.

It was the twins' turn to look dumbstruck as this strange woman kissed the Doctor. They certainly wouldn't want to risk pissing off Hermione and it looked to them like the Doctor was enjoying the kiss. They hoped for his sake, Hermione never found out.

River broke off the kiss with a whispered, "I've missed you." She turned to face the twins and messed their hair with both hands. "Hello, boys," she greeted them. She looked over their shoulders and then pushed past them to get to Arthur and Molly who were just as dumbstruck as their sons. She hugged first Arthur and then Molly.

Arthur awkwardly returned the hug. When Molly was done being hugged, she gently lifted her hand to touch River's frizzy hair. Recognition dawned on her as she muttered, "Hermione?"

River nodded her head. She smiled as she replied with a simple, "Yes."

Arthur creased his brows as he tried to figure out what was going on. River helped him sit down in case he forgot how to stand while his mind tried to grasp things. "I'm madly in love with a Time Traveler," she told him. "Didn't you ever think I would learn how to do it myself?" she teased. She turned around again to look at the Doctor. "Ready when you are, Sweetie," she said eagerly.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hog's Head Inn - Hogsmeade**

Hermione turned her head slowly to look at her team in the dim basement light of Hogsmeade's less reputable inn. Vastra's maid Jenny was looking a little wobbly after her trip through the floo network, but Ginny had her hand on the other woman's elbow to help her keep her balance. Harry quickly took Jenny's other arm to help his new friend. Vastra had her head turned towards the dark areas of the basement where the feeble torchlight didn't penetrate.

"We are not alone," Vastra whispered to Hermione as she drew one of her swords with practiced grace. She had used her pit organs to sense the surrounding area's heat signatures and "saw" a humanoid shape crouching behind what she assumed to be a crate of some kind and another person standing next to it. Vastra used her sword to point to where the people were.

Harry stepped forward, drew his wand, and looked over at Hermione who had drawn her sonic pistol instead. His smirk at her choice of weapons caused Hermione to stick out her tongue at him. To her it was a perfectly logical choice. She knew that even though she was better at the technical aspects of magic than he was, Harry's spells were much, much stronger than hers. Besides, her training with Jack and the Pyramid of Pain had greatly improved her shooting skills.

Harry and Hermione smiled at each other even as they positioned themselves to fight if necessary. When Harry saw that Hermione had taken up a good position relative to the crate, he raised his wand into the air and said, "**LUMOS**." Bright light shot out of his wand to drive back the shadows.

Harry took an involuntary step backwards when the light revealed a man with long white hair and brilliant, blue eyes staring at him. It took Harry a moment before he noticed the differences between this man and the headmaster he loved so dearly. The first thing he noticed was that this man had a straight nose instead of Prof. Dumbledore's crooked one. The next thing Harry noticed was that where his surrogate grandfather's hair was a brilliant silver in places, this man's hair was a lackluster gray. Barring those and a few other minor discrepancies, the men were almost identical. This man had to be Prof. Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth.

Hermione holstered her pistol and stepped towards the man, her hand out stretched. "Hello again, Mr. Dumbeldore," she stated.

Aberforth Dumbledore looked down at Hermnione's offered hand for a tense moment as if he was deciding what the act of shaking it might cost him. His eyes looked her over from top to bottom and paused briefly when they focused on the pistol holstered on her hip. Hermione thought she saw the faintest of smiles on the old man's lips when he met her eyes again. Eventually he made up his mind and shook her hand. "Miss Granger," he replied in a non-committal fashion.

Hermione leaned around Aberforth and looked at the man crouching behind him. She rushed past the inn owner as soon as she recognized the huddled form. "Mr. Tonks?!" she exclaimed worriedly. A loud, rattling cough was the only response she got from Ted Tonks. Hermione brushed his blond hair away from his face, which earned her a small smile from Ted.

"Hello, Hermione. Fancy meeting you at this fine establishment," Ted joked. He coughed again and then used the crate next to him to stand. Hermione, Harry, and Ginny had all met Ted on several occasions at different gatherings at the Burrow. The last time any of them had seen him was two years ago a Christmas party. Since then, it looked like he had aged over 20 years.

Hermione helped ease Ted to a dusty chair near the crate while Aberfoth used the only burning torch to light the others that were spaced evenly along the walls. Harry lowered his wand once the light of the torches took over so that they could see clearly. Vastra and Jenny tried to look non-threatening, but kept wary eyes on the strangers none the less.

Aberforth finished lighting the torches and turned to scowl at Hermione. "I should have known you weren't actually doing a paper on Hogsmeade architecture when you asked to poke around my basement," he snarled. He turned his head to look at the others in her group. "Let's see... red hair and neck deep in trouble... she must be the Weasley girl," he commented. "And everybody knows the famous Mr. Potter," he scoffed. Aberforth stared at Vastra as he spoke again. "What I don't know is who are these other folk you've brought under my roof," he stated. The fact that Vastra was clearly reptilian in nature didn't seem to phase him one bit.

Before Vastra could respond, Ted pulled Aberforth over to him and whispered something quickly in his ear. Aberforth's frown deepened for a moment, but then went away to be replaced by a look of complete indifference. "Fine, but they better not poke even a nose up top, or I'll turn them over to the Death eaters myself," he warned and then stomped off to go up the stairs to the tap room.

"Sorry, he's plenty rough around the edges, but his heart is the right place," Ted told them. "He likes to come across as the surly barkeep, but truth be told, he's helped smuggle more Muggle born witches and wizards out of Hogwarts than anyone else I know," he assured them. "Old grumpy does have a point though," Ted said. "Who are your new friends, Hermione?" he asked warmly.

Jenny stepped forward and performed a quick curtsy. "My name is Jenny and this is my employer, the Lady Vastra," she said, introducing her and her lover.

Hermione thought she saw a small grin tug at the corners of Ted's mouth, but she wasn't sure. The grin was gone when he turned his face towards her again. "Mr. Tonks, what happened to you?" Hermione asked. "And what are you doing here?" she added, gesturing around the basement.

Ted frowned and pretended to look himself over. "What do you mean?" he responded, his brows scrunched up together in confusion.

Hermione blushed in embarrassment. "Um... what I mean is..." she stammered and looked over her shoulder at her friends for help. Ted's laughter made her turn around and realize where her pink haired friend got her sense of humour.

"Got ya," Ted chortled. "I know I look like hell, 'Mione," he told Hermione. "Let's answer that last question first," he suggested. "A bunch of Death Eaters led by my beloved sister-in-law raided our house a couple of months ago," he told her. "I was able to escape through the floo network, but I haven't been able to return home out of fear they might hurt Andromeda," he stated. "They can't touch my wife on the grounds that she and Bellatrix share the same full blood ancestry, but harboring a fugitive Muggle born is something all together different," he explained.

"As to what's wrong... let's just say that everyone has an expiration date and I'm approaching mine," Ted said cryptically. He raised his hand to silence Hermione's questions. "You're here with Harry, Ginny, and two ladies with big whacking swords, so I'm guessing you've a schedule to keep," he pointed out. He gestured towards the painting hanging over the fireplace. "Before you go off and do what ever mischief it is you lot have planned, promise me one thing," he requested.

"What is it, Mr. Tonks?" Harry asked.

Ted smiled again and sighed. "Next time you see my lovely Dora give her my love, but don't tell her how bad I've gotten. She's got enough on her mind what with her new husband, the baby on the way, and the war and all," he replied. "Just tell her I love her and that her mother and I will be seeing her soon enough," he suggested.

Harry nodded to Ted. "We'll tell her just so long as you promise to hold up your end and see her soon," he offered. Ted smothered a cough and then nodded in agreement.

Hermione wished she could spend more time with Mr. Tonks and find out what was really wrong with him, but she agreed that they were on a schedule. The sooner they created their distraction, the sooner her boyfriend and his team could get Prof. McGonagall out of Azkaban. She felt along the painting's gold frame for the hidden catch she had discovered the last time she was in this particular dive. Her fingers found the catch and the painting swung aside. Harry and Vastra slid a large crate over to the fireplace to make it easier for everyone to climb into the tunnel. Harry led the way followed closely by Ginny and then Vastra. Jenny followed her lover and Hermione took up the rear. As she closed the painting behind her, Hermione saw Ted give her a final wink and nod of approval.

Neville Longbottom walked up and down the rows of cots that lined the Room of Requirement. The Death Eaters had stepped up their patrols as well as what they considered a true witch or wizard to be. He had decided to move all the half-blood witches and wizards into the room to keep them out of the Carrows' hands. His left arm was in a sling and right eye was swollen shut because he had refused to tell Alecto Carrow where the students had vanished to.

The painting hanging on the far side of the room swung open, startling Neville. He wasn't prepared for who he saw climbing out of the tunnel. He watched in confusion as first Harry and then Ginny climbed down from the painting. Neville's eyes widen in shock when a tall woman with green scales jumped from the tunnel to the floor below. She was wearing a pair of tight brown, leather riding pants, a white shirt, and a gray vest. She had a pair of swords crossed behind her back. The dragon woman turned and helped a woman wearing what looked like a Victorian gown out of the tunnel. This woman had only one sword strapped across her back. Hermione was the last one out of the tunnel and she closed the painting behind her.

Harry and Ginny rushed over to Neville and gave him a quick hug before they were swamped by the other students, all yammering questions. Neville held up his good hand for silence and slowly the din dropped away. "I'm glad to see you're OK, Harry, but what the hell are you doing here?" he demanded. "Prof. McGonagall needs your help," he reminded his friend.

Harry smirked at Neville and waited for Hermione to walk over to them before replying. "Don't worry, we've got that covered. The Doctor's leading a team to get her back," he said, his voice brimming with confidence for his future father-in-law. "We're here to make a diversion to give them a better chance at pulling it off," he stated, smiling coldly.

Neville matched his smile. He remembered his first encounter with the Doctor and how he had stood up for him to a group of Slytherin and Prof. Snape himself. He couldn't think of anyone other than Harry he would trust to get Prof. McGonagall back.

Vastra tilted her head to the side as she caught sight of something on a table behind Neville. "Pardon me," she said politely as she walked past Neville. She picked up a pair of matching restraint cuffs of clearly Silurian manufacture. "What are these doing here?" she demanded.

Neville spun around and looked at the manacles. "Um... I suppose the Room of Requirement decided that they were needed," he explained, a little confused himself. He looked over at Harry and asked, "What kind of diversion were you guys planning?" he inquired.

Vastra answered for Harry. "We're going to strike back at the Death Eaters for not only sending your teacher to that hell hole, but also for everything they've done to you and your friends here at the school," she replied. "We're going to capture these Carrow monsters and make a lot of noise doing it," she explained with a cold, reptilian smile.

That smile sent chills down Neville's spine, but he answered it with one of his own. "How can I help?" he offered.

The woman called Jenny stepped up next to Vastra and whispered something in her ear. Vastra looked back down  
>at the restraints in her hands and replied, "Later my dear, I promise." This earned her a naughty smile from her maid and bright red blushes from those who knew of their relationship.<p>

**********DrW**********

Amycus Carrow whistled a jaunty tune as he made his way up tho the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom. Lucious Malfoy had sent him a package full of new torture devices that he was just itching to try out. He was so wrapped up in his dark fantasies that he almost didn't notice the lone student standing at the end of the hallway where it branched off in a T-intersection. Amycus pulled up sharply when he saw the boy was proudly sporting the red and gold scarf of the Gryffindors. The boy had his face tilted to the ground. When the boy looked up, both his crooked smile and famous lightning bolt scar were clearly visible. The Potter boy met Amycus' eyes and then darted off down the left hand passage.

Amycus flicked his wand three times and swirled it around his head once, setting off the alarms he and his sister had set up at the school. As soon as he heard the warbling screams of the alarm, he gave chase after "Public Enemy #1".

The first thing Amycus noticed when he rounded the corner was a sharp pain in his wand hand as a booted footed kicked him in the wrist, shattering the small bones in his hand. As he instinctively cradled his broken wrist to his body with his good hand, he caught a flash of bright red hair before a second kick struck him the chest. That kick sent him sailing down the hallway to land on the other side of the T`intersection flat on his back.

When Amycus' vision cleared from the impact, he looked up to see a bushy haired witched pointing some sort of strange object at him. He had paid attention to Lucious' briefing and knew that this witch was none other than "Public Enemy #2", Hermione Granger. Relief flooded through him as he remembered that the Potter boy and his closest friends clung to the stupid notions of decency and honor. Amycus almost smiled as he said, "I surrender and beg mercy."

Hermione's jaw tightened and she briefly thought about switching the setting on her pistol. "Mercy?!" she scoffed in reply. "Like the kind you showed my friend Neville or are you talking about the kind you and your sick friends showed when destroying the Burrow?" she demanded. She thought about the lessons Jack had taught her... the ones she knew the Doctor wouldn't approve of and put on the most homicidal looking grin she could muster. "Yes, I think I'll show you the exact same mercy you lot have shown us," she mused as she pointed the pistol at his face.

Amycus tried to scuttle back using his one good arm and shouted, "Mercy! Please..." His voice was cut off as Hermione shot him the face with a stun blast, guaranteeing him a supernova sized headache when he awoke.

Ginny skipped over to Hermione and gave her friend a high five. "You know... that was kind of fun," Hermione admitted.

Harry stayed where he was and pointed an accusing finger at Hermione. "You are starting to scare me," he told her.

Ginny skipped back to Harry's side and took his hand in hers. "Girl power... you better get used to it if you're going to marry me," she warned him playfully.

Harry pretended to think things over and then smiled at Hermione. "She's got a good point," he said. "Just remind me not to piss you off," he requested. He walked over to the stunned Death Eater, rolled him over with a not so gentle kick, and fished out the restraint cuffs Vastra had given him. After he slapped the cuffs on Amycus, Harry pointed his wand at him, muttering, "**WINDGARDIUM LEVIOSA!**"

**********DrW**********

Alecto Carrow scowled down at the scrolls in front of her. She had assigned a three foot scroll on why Muggles were obviously a clear sign that evolution had regressed and only the Slytherins had turned theirs in. The new Muggle Studies teacher tried to figure out if she had enough free time in her schedule to torture all of the students who hadn't turned in the assignment and decided to just start off with those annoying Gryffindor students and see what time she had left after that. Her now happy musing where cut off when the alarm screams she and her brother had set up sounded out through the castle.

Alecto sprang out of her chair and raced out the door into the hallway. She drew her wand as she ran to where the alarm was coming from. Her race to her brother's aid came to a sudden stop when she found that stubborn boy, Neville Longbottom, standing in the middle of the hallway blocking her way. He was standing just beyond a four way intersection, his wand resting in a holster at his waist.

Neville smirked at Alecto, happy to be finally paying her back for at least a little of the pain she had inflicted on him and the students he stood up for. "You know, I just realized you just might be even uglier than Dolres Umbridge," he taunted the female Death Eater as she passed the darkened hallways branching off to the sides. Had she been less focused on Neville, Alecto might have wondered why the passageways were dark when the rest of the castle was brightly lit.

Alecto was so surprised and insulted by what Neville had said that she drew in a breath that sounded like a hiss. "You little shit!" she spat while leveling her wand at Neville. "I've had all I can take of you and your goody two shoe ways!" she shouted. She briefly ran through a list of painful and rather fatal curses in her head before settling on the one she wanted. Her train of thought was derailed however when a flash of silver spun out from the darkened side passage to her right. Alecto had just enough time to register the flash as a sword before it sliced through her wand, sending a spray magical sparks in all directions.

The Muggle Studies teacher took an involuntary step back as Vastra stepped out of the shadows, her sword flicking back and forth. Alecto found her backwards motion halted when she ran into someone. She felt a cold prick on her neck and could see a sword held there out of the corners of her eyes. A soft, feminine voice said from behind her, "Don't move." Alecto froze as she felt the pressure on her neck increase just slightly. The voice spoke again. "Now if I were you, I would drop what remains of your wand," Jenny suggested. Vastra gently traced her own sword down Alecto's wand arm and rested the tip against her wrist. "My mistress is quite fond of 'lady fingers'," Jenny said in an off hand manner. Vastra turned her sword a little so it drew a small drop of blood and she graced the Death Eater with one of her most blood hungry, reptilian smiles.

The remains of Alecto's wand bounced on the stone floor as it slid from its owner's hand. As soon as it landed, Alecto started babbling pleas for her life and offering up other Death Eaters in exchange for her. Vastra rolled her eyes in annoyance. Her tongue shot out across the distance and struck her prisoner in the neck. Jenny lifted her sword away as the unpleasant woman slid to the ground unconscious. Vastra watched her fall and then looked up at her maid. "I do hope the Doctor is having as much fun as we are," she said pleasantly.


	17. Chapter 17

**Azkaban Island, North Sea**

The crashing waves and angry thunder from the permanent storm magically held in place above Azkaban Island masked the "vworp, vworp" noises of the TARDIS materialising next to the bleak fortress from which the island got its name. The blue door of the traveling box opened slightly and Jack poked his head out to see if their arrival had been noticed. He looked around the barren cliff side, gave the team a brief nod, and stepped outside to get a better look at the imposing prison. Once the rest of the team were outside the TARDIS, Jack let out a low whistle as his eyes traced the lines of the black stone fortress. "The only place I've seen that is less welcoming than this monstrosity is Margaret Thatcher's bedroom," he mused. "Of course once you got past the severe tone of the room and the woman herself, things got pretty fun," he added, lost in his memories.

River reached out and put a hand over Jack's mouth. "There are some things best left unspoken, Jack," she chastised him. River looked over her shoulder and grinned a bit when she saw her millennium old lover looked like he had found a bit of Dalek in his soup as he tried and failed to get that particular image out of his head. She glanced over at the twins and they looked just as disturbed as the Doctor. When she turned her head to look back at Jack, he gave her a mischievous wink and began to pick out a path through the rough terrain to the side of the prison.

Jack slid along the edge of the prison wall until they came to the corner that connected it to the front wall of Azkaban. He was about to poke his head around the corner when the Doctor tapped him on the shoulder. The Doctor reached into his larger on the inside pocket and pulled out a small hand mirror. "Just because you always come back from the dead, doesn't mean I want to see it ever again," he told his friend.

"Thanks, Doc," Jack replied and took the offered mirror, looking down at the intricate gold and silver metalwork on the back of it. He tilted the mirror in the dim light and his eyes widened in shock when he read the small inscription near the base of the handle, "Reinette, though your heart belongs to another, you will always be my angel, Louis."

The Doctor saw the questions in Jack's eyes and shook his head sadly. "One of the ones I was too late to save," he muttered.

Jack understood the look of pain and loss in the Doctor's eyes and nodded once in understanding. He carefully held the mirror out and used it to look around the corner. With his free hand, Jack held up two fingers to indicate that he saw two wizards guarding the gate. While he was watching, a third wizard came running up to the others from inside the prison. The new wizard shouted something to the guard closest to them and then grabbed the arm of the one farthest from them. The third wizard gestured wildly in the direction of the Scotland. In an instant, the guard farthest from them and the new wizard dissolved into puffs of oily black smoke and raced across the sea towards Hogwarts. They were followed a heartbeat later by a large swarm of similar black streaks of smoke flying out of the fortress. The Doctor, River, and the twins were able to see the Death Eaters as the evil swarm angled off towards the coast.

Jack handed the mirror back to the Doctor and smiled at their team. "Looks like Harry and the others created the distraction we were hoping for," he stated. "They only left one Death Eater guarding the front gate," he told them. Jack smiled a wicked smile and pulled out his sonic pistol.

River reached over and pushed Jack's gun hand down. "If you miss, he'll set off the alarm," she warned him. "I've got this one," she assured him. River took out a flask of firewhiskey from her jacket pocket. She opened the top, took a long swig of the potent alcohol and swished it around her mouth before spitting it out. She put the flask away and pulled out a gold lipstick tube. Winking at the Doctor, River twisted the tube and put a modest amount on her lips. The tube went back into her pocket with one hand while she messed up her hair with the other. Her final adjustment was undoing one more button of her blouse to show off more of her perfect cleavage. She reached into her right boot and pulled out her old wand. "Be back in a moment, boys," she told her teammates confidently. She held up her wand and apparated in a flash of light.

The Doctor pushed Jack aside and they both used the hand mirror to look around the corner. River appeared in a flash of light just a few feet away from the lone Death Eater guarding the front of the prison. He instantly pointed his wand at the intruder, but lowered it with a bemused smile when River staggered, swayed, and looked around with a dreamy expression. "This isn't my bedroom," she complained in the loud voice drunks always seem to use. She turned her head to look at the Death Eater and squinted a few times as if she was having a hard time focusing. "Maybe this is better," she stated, still swaying. She straightened up a bit, brushed her hair back with her wand, and gave the guard a lustful smile. "Hello, handsome!" she called out. She staggered forward and grabbed the guard by the front of his robe. "Not my bedroom, but that's OK," she told him. Before the bemused guard could react, River pulled him forward and kissed him on the lips.

As soon as River counted to five, she broke off the kiss and wiped her mouth furiously with a white handkerchief. "Blech!" she moaned before redirecting her attention to the guard. She crooked her finger and made a following gesture. "You're very tired and I know the perfect place for you to nap," she told him warmly. River led the enthralled Death Eater to where her team waited. Right before they rounded the corner, River pointed to a spot between two boulders. "Lay down there for the next six hours or until I tell you to wake up," she commanded. The Death Eater followed her orders and laid down, completely ignoring the four men watching in amusement.

River shuddered a moment and then used the handkerchief to wipe away the last traces of the hypnotic lipstick. "Pardon me boys, but I have to get the taste of that vile wizard off my lips," she apologized before grabbing the Doctor and giving him a snog to remember. When she let go of the Doctor, she fanned herself with her hand. "I'm glad you and I have been practicing," she told him, referring to his and Hermione's blossoming relationship.

The Doctor replied by taking her hand and pulling her to him. He pressed his lips against her ear and whispered, "Lipstick or no, you'll always be hypnotic to me."

River took in a deep breath and fought down her urge to drag the Doctor off and show him exactly how she felt about the man she loved. She shivered a bit as she finally regained control of her hormones. "Come on, let's get Prof. McGonagall out of this hell hole," she forced herself to say. River turned and led the Doctor towards the now unguarded gate.

Jack took advantage of the sexually charged atmosphere and cranked up his pheromone production. He put a hand on each of the twins' arms as they started to follow River. "When we get done with this, I'm taking you guys out for a drink," he promised.

Fred and George shared a brief look and then both broke out in big grins. "You're on, Captain," they said in unison.

River led the Doctor and the others to the small entry alcove at the front of the prison. The main door was set back into the stone a couple of meters. The door itself was made out of stout looking oak. There was no visible lock or handle on their side of the door. River frowned in thought as she looked at the door. "I doubt a simple 'Alahamora' spell will work on this door," she muttered to herself.

Fred and George had heard from Tonks about the Doctor's "magic wand" and the feats he had pulled off with it. George nudged the Doctor and pointed towards the door. "All right, Doctor, have at it with your wand," Fred suggested. The Doctor frowned in embarrassment when Jack and River started giggling. Fred looked confused and asked, "What? What's so funny?" Jack stepped next to the twins and whispered something, gesturing towards the door. The twins started chortling when Jack finished what he was saying.

The Doctor pouted for a moment and then tried to glare at Jack and River. "One of these days I'll figure out a way to make my screwdriver work on wood, but today we have more pressing matters to deal with," he reminded them.

Jack got his mirth under control and pointed his sonic pistol at the door. "A locked door isn't a problem if it isn't there anymore," he said smugly. He was about to fire, but River stepped in front of him.

"Jack, one thing that most prisons have in common is that the doors and windows are usually alarmed," she stated, drawing on her vast experience with prison security systems. "I would be very surprised if this one didn't have some noisy and rather lethal ones set up just in case the front door to the prison holding Great Britain's worst magical criminals was tampered with," she told him patiently.

Jack lowered his gun in disappointment. He was beginning to wonder if River was going to let him shoot anything that day. "Well, what do you suggest?" he asked tersely.

River smiled at Jack, put her hands on his shoulders, and turned him 90 degrees so that he was facing the alcove wall. "In my experience, I've found that the stronger the prison walls, the less likely _they_ are to be alarmed," she stated. "These stone walls look rather strong to me," she pointed out.

Jack dipped his head in River's direction. "I bow to your expertise, Doctor Song," he told her before firing his sonic pistol at the wall. A rectangular hole two meters by one meter suddenly appeared in the thick stone walls.

They all stood still for a moment listening for any alarms. When none came, George tapped River on the shoulder. "Just out of curiosity, how often do you break into prisons?" he asked her.

River flashed him a smile and shrugged her shoulders. "Two or three times a week, depending on how bored I get," she replied. The twins looked at each other in confusion. Neither could imagine the Hermione they knew doing something like that. They both looked thoughtful for a moment as they realized the Hermione they knew now was very different than the rule worshipping, type A bookworm they had met when they were 2nd year students. Her friendship with Harry, Ron, and even the two of them had put her on the road to becoming a very different woman long before the Doctor had shown up.

River read the twins' expressions correctly and grinned even more before gesturing towards the open hole in the wall. "Let's get moving, boys," she suggested. She bit her lip so she wouldn't let slip a spoiler or two slip about how much their lives would change in the future.

Once everyone was inside, Jack switched settings on his pistol and repaired the hole he had put in the wall. They all stepped quietly out into a hallway that was much longer than the exterior walls could fit. The front door was in the middle of the long hall. Jack looked first left and then right. Both ways looked the same to him. "Any ideas on how we should start looking for Prof. McGonagall?" he inquired.

"As a matter of fact, I do," River replied while pulling out her pocket super-computer. She used its touch screen and low level psychic interface to find the program she had set up. A low pitched warble indicate the stone walls were making it difficult to get accurate readings. She held out her computer at arm's length and said, "Sweetie, I need you to sonic me."

The twins chortled with sophomoric mirth at her request. A small smile tugged at the corners of River's mouth as she thought about what she had said. Her smile became sultry as she turned to look at the twins. "Not that it's any of your business, but I'll have you know the Doctor's sonicced me many, _many_ times and each time it was wonderful," she informed them. She watched the Doctor get flustered out of the corner of her eye.

The Doctor pointed an accusing finger at River. "You're getting as bad as Jack," he told her.

"Well, I did learn from the best," River replied, bowing slightly to Jack who responded with a bow and flourish of his own.

The Doctor snapped his fingers impatiently, wanting to change the subject. "Hand it over," he demanded.

"Of course, dear," River replied, her voice implying she was completely innocent. The Doctor took her computer, put the end of his sonic screwdriver next to screen, and boosted the scanner signal strength by 400%. He handed the computer back to River, trying to keep his glare steady. The slight crinkle at the corner of his eyes and lips told River he couldn't stay mad at her.

Jack stepped up behind River and looked over her shoulder at the computer. When he had been at the Time Agency Academy, he had owned a similar computer, but he had only used his for video games. "What are you scanning for?" he wondered aloud.

"Do to the extra engineering required to create an animagus, their DNA is slightly different from a normal wizard or witch," she lectured, falling back into old habits. "I'll just scan for human DNA with just a touch of feline DNA," she stated as if it should have been obvious to everyone. "I've never heard of any other living feline animagus other than Prof. McGonagall," she said.

The Doctor looked down at the floor as his mind raced over what River had said. He raised his head and looked River in the eyes. "I'm sorry, did you just say that the animagus ability was engineered? As in artificially created?" he asked for clarification.

The twins bit back a chuckle when River rolled her eyes like they had seen Hermione do a hundred times before. "Of course it's artificially created," she replied. "Just like the ability to use magic," she sighed. The quiet that followed her statement made River look up from the computer screen. "Oops... I forgot you lot haven't gotten to that bit yet, sorry," she apologized. When she saw the doctor was going to ask a question, she put a finger on his lips to silence him. "Shhh... spoilers," she warned. Her computer beeped twice, drawing her attention back to it. River turned around slowly in a complete circle before speaking. "10 meters down and 120 meters that way," she stated, pointing down as well as towards the center of the prison. "Let's go find the stairs," she said, taking charge of the group. She led them down the hallway to their right.

River led the group through the maze like halls of the prison, frequently taking readings from her computer. They were slowly winding their way towards the center of the fortress. When ever they would get to an intersection, they would use the Doctor's hand mirror to look around the corner. The few roving guards they had encountered were dropped with either a well place stun blast from Jack or River or a stunning spell from one of the twins. Eventually, they reached a large doorway that was guarded by three Death Eaters.

"I think we found the stairway," River whispered to the the others as she quietly withdrew the mirror from around the corner. "These three look like they might have been part of the original prison staff," she stated. "They're wearing dragon skin armor," she told them. The twins at first looked crestfallen and then thoughtful as they put their heads together and whispered furiously.

"Let me guess, dragon skin armor is a bad thing for us," the Doctor said.

River nodded her head. "Dragon skin is impervious to hexes," she explained. "I've never tried stunning a dragon, so I don't know if the armor will protect them from our sonic pistols," she told him. "Even if it doesn't, Jack and I can only shoot one person each. That leaves one free to sound the alarm," she summarized.

"Then we won't use either to knock them out," Fred said happily.

"We have a much more... sophisticated way of handling this," George assured River. He pulled a small figurine out of his pocket and placed it on the floor. A tap from his brother's wand caused the three inch figurine to grow to be about three feet tall.

Jack tiled his head back and forth as he studied what the twins had created. Standing in front of him, looking around the hallway with the largest, most innocent eyes he could imagine was a gray and brown rabbit standing on its hind feet. The rabbit was dressed in a pair of trousers with a hole cut out of the seat to allow its white cotton ball tail to stick through. Over his shoulders the rabbit wore a plain black robe. Its nose twitched a few times and one long ear drooped slightly, making the rabbit look even more adorable. The others looked on in confusion as George whispered something to the rabbit. The rabbit saluted the twins and then waddled off towards the three Death Eaters guarding the stairs.

As soon as the rabbit entered the small room where the three guards were, he was noticed instantly. It was only the ridiculously high level of cuteness displayed by the newcomer that kept the Death Eaters from blasting it into oblivion as it waddled towards them. The rabbit stopped a meter in front of the guards and gave them a shy wave of greeting with it's small, soft paw. The guard in the middle waved back involuntarily. He slowly pulled his hand back down when he saw his fellows were smirking at his childish response.

The rabbit tilted its head up slightly and looked around the room in apparent awe. It kept its head up as it slowly turned around, looking at everything. As soon as the rabbit's back was towards the three guards, it bent over at the waist, flipped the back hem of its robe up, and let loose was a loud _thppprrrrrttttt_ noise from its backside. The amount of gas coming from the rabbit made its robe flap and tail quiver in the sudden, warm breeze. Almost as one, the three guards' eyes rolled back in their heads and they fell to the floor unconscious. The rabbit turned back towards the hallway from where it had come and gave its creators a thumbs up sign before fading out of existence.

River turned around around and stared in annoyance at the fit of giggles that had suddenly seized Jack and the twins. The Doctor was biting his lip to keep from joining them. Eventually, Jack was able to speak. He wiped a tear of laughter from his eye and clapped the twins on their shoulders. "Trojan rabbit... I love it!" he exclaimed.

River rolled her eyes and muttered a disgusted, "Boys!" She started to walk off towards to the entry to the stairs, but she was stopped by George grabbing her arm.

George pulled out a second box from his pocket and placed it down on the ground. Fred tapped the box with his wand, and the box grew to its normal size. George let go of River's arm and opened up the box, showing that it contained four WWII era gas masks. "Trust us on this one," he said, reaching for one of the gas masks.

River and Fred each grabbed a gas mask before Jack started to reach for one. When it registered to him that there was only one left, he drew his hand back. He looked up the Doctor. "You take it," he offered.

The Doctor responded by pointing his sonic screwdriver at the three slumbering guards. When he was done taking a reading, he flicked his wrist to look at the readout. "High levels of sulfur and methane mixed with some other traces compounds," he read aloud. The Doctor flicked his wrist again and the screwdriver closed. "Well within the tolerable range for anything that evolved on Gallifrey," he informed Jack.

"Suit yourself," Jack replied and grabbed the last gas mask. As soon as he had it in place, Jack looked over at the Doctor and asked, "Are you my mummy?" That earned him a small grin from the Doctor at the inside joke.

The Doctor led the others towards the stairway, but stopped where the rabbit had been standing. His eyes were watering and he made the mistake of opening his mouth to say something. "Oh... oh... Vortex!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I can taste it," he sputtered, fighting the urge to wretch. He rushed forwards and threw open the door leading to the stairs. River was right behind them, but Jack and the twins were a little slower due to a new bought of the giggles.

River, Jack, and the twins waited until they had walked down three flights of stairs and reached the bottom before removing their gas masks. Once removed, the masks shrunk back down and George put the now much smaller masks in his pocket. They walked in silence down the dim, underground passage until they reached a plain door with an antique metal lock.

The Doctor hardly broke stride as he blasted the ancient lock with compressed sonic energy, opening it. He threw open the door, but stopped suddenly as he looked over the edge of a huge drop off. The room in front of him had a central pillar with a single door in it facing them. The floor was so far below them, it was hidden in the darkness.

River edged up next to the Doctor and pulled out a chemlight from a pocket. She snapped the plastic, shook the tube, and tossed the light over the edge. She and the Doctor both leaned away from the edge when the light was swallowed up by a combination of darkness and distance. River used her arm to push the Doctor gently back into the passage.

As River ran her hand over the door frame and surrounding wall, Jack stepped up next to the Doctor. "How far down does it go?" he inquired.

River answered for the Doctor as she continued what she was doing. "Forever, I think." she replied. "I remembered reading in one of the history books from Sirius' library about an insane wizard who created a magical singularity just to see if he could," she told him. "I'm pretty sure we just found where the magical community ended up storing what he created," she mused. "Ah... ha!" she exclaimed as she found the hidden catch she was looking for. A slender bridge with chain handrails on either side flared into existence. She looked back over the edge into the magical black hole and nodded towards the Doctor. "After you, my love," she suggested.

The Doctor led the group across the bridge at a snail's pace. Of all the races and species in the Universe, none knew the dangers of a singularity better than a Time Lord. They had invented black holes after all. When they were all safely on the small platform surrounding the center pillar, the Doctor looked at the plain wood door. There was no sign of a lock, only a simple doorknob. It suddenly dawned on him that the door needed no lock. Only someone from the other side of the chasm could activate the bridge. If the poor sod imprisoned in this cell tried to leave, they would be trapped in the event horizon of an artificial black hole. With a shrug of his shoulders, the Doctor opened the door and strode into the cell.

Prof. Mcgonagall had been resting fitfully and jerked upright when the door to her cell opened. To her surprise, the Doctor walked in with a smile on his face. He was followed by a woman who looked to be in her late thirties to early forties. After a moment, McGonagall recognized the frizzy hair and the flash of a brilliant mind behind the pretty brown eyes. "Hermione?!" McGonagall stammered.

River smiled at her mentor and friend. "Hello, Professor," she replied.

Prof. McGonagall adjusted her spectacles in a nervous gesture. "Merlin's beard... how long have I been in here?" she swore.

River knelt next McGonagall and took her hands. "Only a few days," she replied. "I'm a future version of Hermione," she explained. "And please... call me River," she requested. River glanced over her shoulder and smiled at the Doctor. "There's only one person who calls me Hermione at this point in my Timestream," she said.

The Doctor scooted to the side to allow the twins into the small cell. They rushed forward and hugged one of the very few people who had been able to teach them anything about being responsible. MCGonagall hugged them each in turn and then looked up when someone coughed politely from the doorway. McGonagall's eyes widen as she stood up and looked at the man standing in the doorway. The man was wearing a vintage WWII RAF overcoat.

McGonagall regained her composure and nodded in greeting to Jack. There was a small smile on her lips as she said, "Captain Harkness, this is becoming something of a habit for you."

Jack returned her smile with one of his own. "I'm not sure twice in 50 years can be called a habit, Minerva," he replied playfully. He stepped forwards and McGonagall greeted her old friend with a hug.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The Doctor scooted to the side to allow the twins into the small cell. They rushed forward and hugged one of the very few people who had been able to teach them anything about being responsible. McGonagall hugged them each in turn and then looked up when someone coughed politely from the doorway. McGonagall's eyes widen as she stood up and looked at the man standing in the doorway. The man was wearing a vintage WWII RAF overcoat.

McGonagall regained her composure and nodded in greeting to Jack. There was a small smile on her lips as she said, "Captain Harkness, this is becoming something of a habit for you."

Jack returned her smile with one of his own. "I'm not sure twice in 50 years can be called a habit, Minerva," he replied playfully. He stepped forwards and McGonagall greeted her old friend with a hug.

The twins' jaws hung open as they looked from Jack to Prof. McGonagall and back again. The Doctor covered his face with his hand. "Seriously Jack, is there anybody you haven't shagged on this blasted island?" he inquired.

McGonagall gave the Doctor her patented glare where she just barely looked over the top of her spectacles. "Not that it is any of your business, Doctor, but Captain Harkness and I are just friends. We have never been intimate," she replied coldly.

"Really?! Why not?!" the twins asked in unison. They had the good grace to blush as soon as they said it.

George looked at his twin. "That came out a bit fast," he muttered.

Fred nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah it did," he said.

Jack winked at the twins which only made their faces redder. He became thoughtful for a moment. "Now that I think about it, this is one of the few times I've been in a room full of people when I haven't had sex with any of them," he stated.

The Doctor shook his head and stepped in between Jack and McGonagall. "Forgive me Professor, but do you mind if I ask how you know Jack?" he inquired.

McGonagall's face relaxed a bit as she remembered when she first met the remarkable man in the blue coat. "Many people don't know this, but before I was teacher, I was an Unspeakable," she replied.

"Wicked!" the twins exclaimed.

"May I go on?" McGonagall asked, a hint of a smile on her lips. The twins nodded. "During the second world war, I worked for an elite group of Unspeakables tasked with stopping the SS from acquiring the mystical items that would give Hitler the extra he would need to take over the world," she explained. "Near the end of the war, my partner and I were sent on a special mission to try and destroy a secret base that housed the largest dark items collection ever assembled," she said. "Unfortunately for us, the Nazi wizards were expecting the Allies to try something and captured us," she told them.

Jack leaned against the wall and took over the narrative. "I was working for Torchwood at the time and found out the SS had been scouring the planet for anything unusual, including alien tech," he said. "Turns out the goose stepping pricks consolidated their bases and housed the tech at the same place they housed the dark items," he stated. "When I got to the base, all of the guards had run off to the other gate to deal with something," he said with a nod towards McGonagall. "While everyone was busy, I just strolled right into the warehouse," he laughed. "A quick rewiring of a Ghertuth cargo pod was all I needed to take care of the base once and for all," he stated. "I enlarged the space-fold field to encompass the base and set the coordinates to hop the whole place into the sun after a 15 minute delay," he explained.

McGonagall took over the story again as the group made their way across the bridge over the magical singularity. "After the SS wizards subdued my partner and I, they marched us off towards some holding cells," she told them. "While we crossed the base, I saw a man in a RAF coat sneaking from building to building," she explained. "Eventually I was able to make eye contact with the stranger to let him know I knew he was there. He locked eyes with me and then nodded once," she said. "The next instant, the bloody fool started shouting insults in German and shooting at the wizards," she stated, shaking her head with the memory. "The wizards unleashed a torrent of curses and struck the man dead, but not before the two wizards holding onto my partner and I found rather large holes between their eyes," she explained.

The group had managed to get to the stairs where the twins sent a magical wind to drive away the stench their Trojan rabbit had created. McGonagall could tell from the rapt expressions on the young men's faces that they wanted to hear what had happened next. "My partner had been a dueling champion before the war and was able to call our wands to us," she said. "We were able to stun the rest of the SS wizards in the area before they could react," she stated. "Once we snapped all of their wands, I went to check on the man who had saved us. Needless to say, he was very dead from that many killing curses striking him," she told them. "Imagine my surprise when said dead man gasped loudly, opened his eyes, and told us to run," she said.

McGonagall looked at Jack with a mixture of warmth and nostalgia. "Of course we took his advice and ran as fast as we could," she stated. "We had barely made it a 100 meters past the fence when a bright flash blinded us for a moment," she told them. "When we turned around, we saw a large concave hole where the base used to be. Our new found friend just chuckled and then offered my partner and I a night we would never forget," she explained, shaking her head once again. "Of course being married at the time, I had to refuse," she said firmly.

They reached the entry alcove and Jack shot the wall with his sonic pistol again, giving them a way out. Jack stepped outside and offered Prof. McGonagall his hand to help her out. "Yeah, you might have turned me down, but at least your partner took me up on my offer so the evening was still fun," he reminded her. "How is Flitwick by the way?" he inquired with a fond look in his eyes. Jack had a dreamy expression as he added, "It was amazing what that guy could do with just a swish and a flick."

The twins froze in shock and then stared at each other. Different expressions crossed their faces as thoughts of the diminutive charms instructor engaged in a romantic evening with Jack invaded theirs minds. After a moment, Fred spoke first. "This sounds like a perfect time to use that simultaneous obliviation spell we came up with after we accidently caught mum and dad in the garden when they thought we were all at school," he suggested.

"I couldn't agree more, brother of mine," George replied.

The twins whipped out their wands and tapped the other on the temple. "_**OBLIVIATE!"**_they shouted in unison. Jack chuckled and McGonagall rolled her eyes.

River shook her head to clear it and looked at Jack. "Take Prof. McGonagall and the twins back to the TARDIS," she ordered. "I have to speak with my husband alone for a moment," she added. McGonagall raised her eyebrow at that declaration, but followed Jack and the twins. When they were out of earshot, River turned to the Doctor and kissed him again. After she broke the kiss due to lack of air, River slapped the Doctor hard across his face.

"Owe! What was that for?" the Doctor exclaimed.

River stared at the Doctor, doing a very good imitation of McGonagall's stare. "You forget, I know what you're planning," she reminded him. "I know all about the deal you struck with the Silence," she spat, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "You have no idea how badly you broke my heart when I watched you leave for Lake Silencio," she sobbed.

The Doctor took River in his arms and pulled her to him. "Everything I did and am planning to do is to keep you (and to a lesser extent everyone else) safe," he whispered. "I love you and I will do everything in my power to protect you," he told her from both of his hearts.

River took a step back and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "I definitely have a type," she chuckled sadly. "First I have a crush on Harry for a while and then I fell madly in love with you," she stated. "Both wonderful men willing to sacrifice everything for the good of others," she sighed.

Wanting to change the subject, the Doctor wagged an accusing finger at River when something finally clicked. "You've been using magic to escape from Stormcage," he stated.

River laughed a laugh that hadn't changed since she had been at Hogwarts. "Of course I have," she replied. "Why do you think it's always been so easy for me?" she asked rhetorically. "Aside from myself, there are no human witches or wizards in the 51st century, so the warden and his people have no idea how to stop me," she chuckled. River saw the dark expression that crossed her lover's face. She stepped closer to him and placed her hand on his cheek, forcing him to look in her eyes. The Doctor saw she had a warm, happy smile on her face. "You know I can't tell you why that is," she reminded him. "But what I will tell you is that what happens is a good thing... a very good thing for the entire universe," she stated cryptically.

A vibration on River's wrist let her know the key to the Doctor defeating the Valeyard was approaching rapidly. "I can't go with you this time, my love," she said sadly. "But I do need you to promise me you'll keep the younger me or my parents from doing something they would regret," she requested. Before the Doctor could ask why, River continued. "Mother and Dad are getting a visit from a pack of Death Eaters as we speak," she told him. "It would probably be a good idea for you to get there before I do," she warned.

River took a step back and pulled her left sleeve up to expose a large leather band wrapped around her wrist. A time turner was embedded in the center with red and gold crystals surrounding it. The Gryffindor Lion was clearly engraved on the metal casing of the time turner. She knew the Doctor was dying to ask her about her magical Vortex Manipulator. River smirked at the Doctor as she said, "Spoilers, dear." She touched the time turner and vanished.

**********DrW**********

**Granger House, Chelsea**

Draco Malfoy stood next to a tree across from an ordinary looking Muggle townhome. He smiled as he ran his thumb up and down his wand. The Dark Lord had entrusted him with a mission devised to demoralize that Potter wanker and his friends. Lord Voldemort had used his new power over the Ministry of Magic to find where that filthy mudblood Granger's parents lived. Draco had been ordered to take a squad of five Death Eaters and kill the Muggles, leaving a message for Potter in their blood. The Dark Lord hadn't specified what he wanted the message to say, just so long as it drove the Order into a frenzy.

Simultaneous loud pops alerted Draco to the arrival of his team. The heir to the Malfoy name sneered as he used his magical senses to probe the town home's magical defenses. As he expected, they were only what a simple mudblood could conjure. Draco looked over his shoulder at the men wearing their Death masks. "Remember, don't kill them too quickly," he ordered. "I want them to die slowly and painfully," he reminded them. Draco planned on leaving a pensive memory of their murders so Potter and the mudblood could see what it meant to cross a Malfoy. He leveled his wand at the front door of the home. Draco was the first to fire off a blasting hex, followed almost immediately by the other Death Eaters, "_**CONFRINGO!"**_.

Rory and Amy Granger were sitting on the couch in their living room when the alarms UNIT had installed picked up the sudden energy spike that always seemed to accompany apparition. Rory folded his paper and sighed. "I wondered when those ponces would finally get around to attacking us," he muttered. He stood up and calmly put the paper on the end table.

Amy quickly stood up and kissed her husband on the cheek. "Any thoughts on dinner?" she asked as she made her way behind the half-bar that had been set up in the corner of the living room. She pulled out a pair of matched plasma pistols the UNIT R&D division had cobbled together. She ducked down behind the bar which was shielded with salvaged Dalekanium.

Rory strode across the entry hallway into the dining room. He hit the side of the china cabinet with his fist and a hidden panel snapped open. With practiced ease, Rory pulled out the sawed off shotgun and checked to make sure it was loaded and that the safety was off. "I was thinking pizza or maybe pasta from Gambinos," he replied while checking the weapon.

Before Amy could reply, the whole house shook as a volley of hexes slammed into the magical wards Hermione had erected for them. Rory rolled his eyes and pressed a hidden button on the light switch next to the china cabinet. A second volley of hexes collapsed the wards and shattered their front door which Amy had insisted on painting TARDIS blue.

The first Death eater through the door was surprised when a metallic arm descended out of the ceiling at the end of the entry hall. The arm ended in a gray box with four short tubes sticking out of the end. He managed a contemptuous sneer before the micro-railgun shattered the air with four supersonic booms as each tube shot out a ceramic slug at eight times the speed of sound. His chest exploded with the kinetic energy imparted by the tiny projectiles.

Draco was third in line to enter the house, knowing a Malfoy never risked themselves by leading from the front. He leveled his wand at the strange device on the ceiling and again shouted, "_**CONFRINGO!"**_The micro-railgun was blasted into a sparking, useless wreck.

From where he was standing, Draco could not see where either of the foolish Muggles were hiding. With a sneer, Draco taunted, "Come out and face me you filth!" He took another step into the home to allow the other three Death Eaters room to enter. "I do have other things to do today," he stated, feigning boredom. In truth, he had never felt so powerful and alive. "The sooner I rape the Mudblood's mother and and prove to your know-it-all daughter that her place is either in a whorehouse or in the stables of some Pureblood family, the sooner I get to kill her father," he shouted, hoping to lure out the Grangers.

From Amy's place behind the bar, she could see that her husband had shifted position to stand next to the second entry into the dining room. She watched his hands and jaw clench in anger. Amy knew exactly how he felt. It was only her extensive combat training through UNIT that kept her Scottish temper from forcing her to jump up and open up on that blond haired little shit with both guns. Motion from the dining room caught her attention and Amy became concerned when Rory glanced down at his shotgun in disgust and gently lay it down on the floor. She knew her husband was about to reveal a secret they hadn't even told the Doctor about. The thought that none of the Death Eaters were likely to survive to tell anyone made her feel a little better.

"You must be that arrogant little weasel Hermione told us about," Rory called out from his hiding place. "She always thought your behavior stemmed from you trying to overcompensate from having itty bitty wanker," he taunted. Draco motioned with his head for one of the Death Eaters to sneak into the dining room.

Rory heard the Death Eater enter the dining room and chose that moment to step out into the hallway, his hands raised above his head in apparent surrender. He looked at Draco, no fear at all in his usually kind eyes. "Before you kill me, I was wondering if I could ask you a quick question?" he inquired. Draco laughed, but gave Rory a moment to ask his question. "I was just wondering if you were familiar with the theory that the Pandorica is an object that exists simultaneously in two separate universes," Rory stated. "Thing is, the Pandorica isn't the only thing that exists in both universes and I was wondering if you knew what the other was?" he asked in an offhand manner.

Draco frowned slightly in confusion. He had no idea why the stupid Muggle's last words would be about a fairy tale. Draco leveled his wand at Rory's chest. "Not that I really care, but what is the other thing?" he asked.

Draco's blood froze at the predatory smile Rory gave him. "Me!" Rory snarled as the air shimmered around him. In an instant, Rory's maroon scrubs were replaced with the full ceremonial armor of a Roman centurion.

Having no idea what he was seeing, Draco shouted, "_**Avada Kedavra!" **_The sickly green energy leapt from his wand and struck the Mudblood's father directly in the chest.

Rory licked his finger and wiped away the oily smudge the killing curse had left on his breastplate. "Hermione explained to me about the killing curse you and your sick buddies like using," he said calmly to a an astonished Draco. "The curse works by stopping the heart of the victim," he explained like he was talking to a first year student. "Doesn't work if the victim doesn't have a heart to stop in the first place," the ancient Auton explained. With speed far beyond a human, Rory pointed his right hand into the dining room at the Death eater who was trying to sneak up on him. Rory's fingers swung down on a hinge and exposed the blaster built into his hand. A bright red flash from the blaster was the last thing the Death Eater saw before the coherent energy cut a hole through his chest, heart, and spine.

Amy used the distraction her husband provided and stood up from behind the bar. Draco saw her fiery red hair flow out from around her almost as if he was watching things in slow motion. A large part of his terror stricken mind wondered if this was what an avenging goddess was supposed to look like. Amy held her arms out at a wide angle and fired both of her plasma pistols at separate targets. Two Death Eaters went down with plasma burns between their eyes. Amy pulled her arms back together and fired the guns a second time before the final Death Eater had time to fully turn and face her. His head exploded in a fine mist as the twin plasma bolts superheated his blood and brain matter.

Draco dropped his wand as he stared at the carnage around him. Potter and his friends had always used nonkilling hexes when they fought his Dark Lord's forces. Draco had just assumed the Mudblood's parents would act the same. His head snapped around when he heard Granger's father say, "Good bye, ferret." Rory pointed his blaster hand at Draco and fired off a shot.  
>The blaster bolt was deflected by the TARDIS materializing around Draco.<p>

Inside the TARDIS, Draco let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He had time to look around in wonder before a man wearing a blue overcoat punched him in the face for all he was worth. Draco's nose shattered and he fell to the floor of the TARDIS unconscious.

Hermione apparated outside of her family's home as soon as she felt the wards around the home fall. She screamed in anger when she saw the front door had been blasted away. With her sonic pistol in one hand and her wand in the other, Hermione stormed into the house. Once inside, she saw her father wearing his usual maroon scrubs trying to mop up a red mess in the dining room. Her mother was doing the same in the entryway. Amy's work was hampered by the presence of a certain large, blue box in the hallway.

"What happened?!" Hermione shouted before hugging her parents, grateful they were all right.

Rory leaned against the mop, his eyes still full of anger. "That git Malfoy you told us about stormed in here with five of his Butt Eater friends," he said in a barely controlled voice.

Amy was just as furious since the doctor had refused to open the doors to the TARDIS until they promised not to kill Draco. "Malfoy informed us his plans were to rape, torture, and kill us," she spat.

The tip of Hermione's wand glowed red from all of her anger that was seeping into to it. "Where is he?" she asked, her voice colder than the Void itself.

Rory jerked his thumb at the TARDIS. "I was about to finish off that piece of human refuse when _your_boyfriend showed up at the last moment to save him his life," he sighed in disgust. A small part of him was happy the Doctor had arrived and kept him from killing the Malfoy boy in cold blood. The rest of him wanted to batter down the TARDIS doors and finish the job properly.

Hermione's wand started to lose its angry glow, but her eyes were still murderous. The look she gave the TARDIS would have made any blooded warrior's insides weak with fear. Rory saw the look in her eyes and started to chuckle and then laugh out right, his tensions and murderous intent draining away.

"What's so funny?" Amy asked sharply.

Rory pointed to Hermione. "I know that look all too well from all the times you've given it to me," he chuckled. "If they were already married, I'd be willing to wager the Doctor would find himself sleeping on the couch tonight," he joked.

Amy smiled despite herself and relaxed. "She is my daughter after all," she agreed. "I wouldn't be surprised if she finds a way of locking him out of his bedroom and making him sleep on the couch after all," she added.

Hermione holstered her wand and pistol. She stomped her foot and glared at Amy. "Honestly, mother!" she scolded.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Previously on "River of Magic"**_

_"What happened?!" Hermione shouted before hugging her parents, grateful they were all right._

_Rory leaned against the mop, his eyes still full of anger. "That git Malfoy you told us about stormed in here with five of his Butt Eater friends," he said in a barely controlled voice._

_Amy was just as furious since the Doctor had refused to open the doors to the TARDIS until they promised not to kill Draco. "Malfoy informed us his plans were to rape, torture, and kill us," she spat._

_The tip of Hermione's wand glowed red from all of her anger that was seeping into to it. "Where is he?" she asked, her voice colder than the Void itself._

_Rory jerked his thumb at the TARDIS. "I was about to finish off that piece of human refuse when your boyfriend showed up at the last moment to save his life," he sighed in disgust. A small part of him was happy the Doctor had arrived and kept him from killing the Malfoy boy in cold blood. The rest of him wanted to batter down the TARDIS doors and finish the job properly._

_Hermione's wand started to lose its angry glow, but her eyes were still murderous. The look she gave the TARDIS would have made any blooded warrior's insides weak with fear. Rory saw the look in her eyes and started to chuckle and then laugh out right, his tensions and murderous intent draining away._

_"What's so funny?" Amy asked sharply._

_Rory pointed to Hermione. "I know that look all too well from all the times you've given it to me," he chuckled. "If they were already married, I'd be willing to wager the Doctor would find himself sleeping on the couch tonight," he joked._

_Amy smiled despite herself and relaxed. "She is my daughter after all," she agreed. "I wouldn't be surprised if she finds a way of locking him out of his bedroom and making him sleep on the couch after all," she added._

_Hermione holstered her wand and pistol. She stomped her foot and glared at Amy. "Honestly, Mother!" she scolded._

********DrW********

**Chapter 19**

The Granger family looked at each other for a moment and then they all started to chuckle as the joy of cheating death swept through them. Their laughter was cut short by the squealing of tires and the sound of emergency vehicle sirens as three black armored personnel carriers thundered onto their street. Once they were near the house, the sirens stopped and the flashing blue and red lights were turned off.

One of the vehicles rolled past the Granger home for another block while the third one stopped a block prior to the home. The black APC in the middle stopped in the street directly in front of the blasted and shattered door of the Granger home. In an instant, the back end of all three APCs opened and soldiers poured out with the fluidity created from hours and hours of practice. The soldiers were dressed in black combat uniforms with bright red berets. Hermione recognized the "wings coming out of a globe" symbol on the front of each beret as the one she had seen on both her father's and the Doctor's binoculars. Each soldier was armed with an assault rifle. They formed a perimeter surrounding and containing everyone in the area.

One of the soldiers rushed up to the Granger home and snapped to attention, his hand up in a salute. He was about to address Rory when he caught sight of the old blue box in the hallway. The soldier dropped his salute and frantically grabbed the lapel mic of his radio. "All units, this is Alpha Two. We have a confirmed Code One scenario. I repeat… we have a confirmed Code One scenario. _Grandfather_ is on site!" he shouted. The soldier looked to his left and then his right as he watched his troops shift to where they could be behind cover in an instant if needed. Satisfied, he returned his attention back to Rory. "Proper Captain Granger, the area is secured," he said with another salute.

Rory returned the salute of his second in command. "Thank you, Lt. Simmons," he replied. "Now knock off the formalities, Tim, or I'll sick the Beta Team Leader on you," he warned.

Tim Simmons chuckled and relaxed his posture. He turned to Amy and bowed slightly. "Good afternoon, other Captain Granger," he joked to the leader of his sister team.

Amy smiled at him and then gave their friend a rather unmilitary like hug. "Thanks for showing up so soon," she told him.

Rory looked down at his watch and his eyes widen in surprise. "5 minutes?" he stated in shock. "How the bloody hell did you get across downtown London in only 5 minutes?" he inquired in disbelief.

Simmons looked at the ground a little sheepishly before answering. "Knowing two of our own were in trouble sort of motivated us to get here fast," he replied. He nodded towards the front of his APC and jerked his thumb towards the front bumper which had several different scrapes and swatches of paint transfer on it. "We... um... didn't exactly wait for civilians to clear the road for us," he admitted. "No casualties, but I think UNIT will be paying for a least a dozen new autos," he told them.

Hermione stepped outside of the home and looked at Simmons. "Hello, Uncle Tim," she said making a point of looking at his uniform. Simmons looked at her in shock and then down at his uniform. He had a panicked expression as he looked back up at his friends' daughter. "I guess it's safe to assume that like my parents, you aren't really a dentist," she stated blandly.

Amy smiled at Simmons and placed a friendly hand on his arm. "She found out when she arrived for Christmas dinner with the Doctor in tow," she explained. "Hermione is his new Companion," she said simply. She didn't mention the other part about her daughter also dating the one time UNIT science advisor.

Simmons' eyes grew even larger. As part of the command team for the field operatives, he had been informed of Amy and Rory's statuses as being prior Companions. It boggled his mind to think that their daughter had become one as well. He pivoted to face Hermione, a girl he had known since she was in nappies. Simmons came to attention again and saluted Hermione. "Ma'am, according to UNIT Emergency Directive One, command of UNIT troops fall to the Doctor if the TARDIS is sighted on Earth. If he is unavailable, command slides to his current Companion if they are present," he told her formally.

Hermione blinked a few times in shock before she hesitantly returned the salute. She was saved from having to say anything back by Rory's cell phone ringing. He pulled it out of his front pocket and read the caller ID, "The TARDIS". "I have to take this call," Rory told Simmons. He flipped open the phone and answered it. "Hello," he said simply.

"Hello, Rory. I just wanted to see if it was safe to come out of the TARDIS yet," the Doctor said through the phone. "I remember how angry Amy can get and I don't much fancy getting hexed by Hermione," he stated truthfully.

Rory looked first at his wife and then his daughter. "I don't think the Granger women will string up by your dangly bits if that is what you are asking," he chuckled. Hermione rolled her eyes and Amy stuck her tongue out at him.

"Good, I'll be out as soon as Jack and I finish securing Malfoy," the Doctor replied before hanging up on his end.

A few moments later, the doors to the TARDIS opened and the Doctor stepped out. He shut the doors behind him, leaving Jack to look after the twins and Malfoy on the inside. The Doctor's smile faltered when he saw the UNIT soldier standing in the doorway. He sighed and then made his way towards his girlfriend and her family.

From the looks the strangely dressed young man was getting from the Grangers, Simmons realized he was in the presence of the Doctor. He snapped to attention and saluted for a fourth time since arriving. He was stopped from saying anything by the Doctor waving his hand dismissively and saying, "Don't... just don't."

Simmons dropped his salute and muttered, "Damn." He smirked at the Doctor's raised eyebrow. "We have a rather sizeable pot going with the whole thing for whoever gets you to return one of our salutes," he explained. Holding out his hand, he said, "Lt. Timothy Simmons. I'm proper Captain Granger's second in command." the Doctor shook his hand as Amy punched Simmons in the shoulder. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, rubbing the sore spot with his hand once the Doctor let go.

"Tim refers to me as 'proper Captain Granger' and Amy as Captain Granger because I was promoted first," Rory explained, chuckling lightly.

"By five bloody minutes," Amy complained in a joking way. Her mirth fled when she saw the haunted look in her old friend's eyes. She had no idea the Doctor now knew who had come up with the names "Dave and Proper Dave" prior to his first meeting with River Song at the Great Library; the meeting that led to the death of Amy's daughter.

The Doctor looked down the street and saw the UNIT soldiers moving aside for a black SUV with tinted windows. "Now what?" he moaned.

"Uh-oh, look busy... it's the boss," Rory said to no one in particular. The SUV stopped next to the house and a tall, black woman with cocoa colored skin got out from the back seat. Like the others, she was dressed in the black combat uniforms of UNIT. Rory noticed that Doctor was now trying very hard to keep his smile hidden.

Brigadier Winifred Bambera walked up to the small group standing right outside the blasted front door. Her penetrating stare roved over her field operatives, Hermione, and the strangely dressed young man. She shifted her gaze back to Rory. "Report," she ordered.

Rory glanced back into the house where four bodies lay. "The terrorist group we told you about finally decided to attack us," he replied. "Amy and I were forced to terminate four out of the five terrorists, however their leader is still alive," he told his boss.

Bambera looked over at Amy in surprise. The Scottish woman's temper was legendary at UNIT. The fact that any of the Death Eaters who attacked the Granger home were still breathing was something of a miracle. "You let one live?!" she asked, not quite sure she heard Rory correctly.

"Not by choice," Amy replied, glaring at the Doctor. He in turn managed a weak smile back. The Doctor had faced Satan himself on a planet suspended on the event horizon of a black hole, but the thought of an angry Amy made him want to go run and hide in the TARDIS again.

Bambera noticed the byplay and chuckled. "No matter, I will gladly take the scum off your hands and drop him down a hole in one of our undisclosed holding locations," she offered.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but a non-magical facility won't hold Malfoy for very long. All he would have to do was apparate out of there and there would be nothing you could do to stop him," Hermione explained. Considering her parents seemed to trust this woman, she decided to ignore the Statute of Secrecy. Besides, she figured the true mission of UNIT was as secret as the Wizarding world was so it wouldn't really matter.

Bambera frowned for a moment. "Apparate? I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that word," she told Hermione.

Rory decided to jump into the conversation. "Think of it as a magical trans-mat field," he suggested.

"Oh, I see," Bambera replied, nodding her head. "Is there a distance limit for this type of transportation?" she asked Hermione.

Hermione thought for a moment and did some arithmancy calculations in her head. "It really all depends on the power of the wizard or witch casting the spell," she stated. "However, the theoretical limit is 900 km and I doubt even Harry could pull that off," she said.

Bambera smiled at the group. "Well that won't be problem then," she said happily. "I was planning on using one of the holding cells on the lunar base," she said with a conspiratorial wink.

Hermione and Amy had matching malicious grins. Rory held up his hand and said, "All in favor of dropping Malfoy on the moon." Everyone but the Doctor raised their hand.

"As tempting as that is, I'm afraid I can't release him into UNIT custody just yet," the Doctor told the group. "I want a chance at interrogating the young man first," he said, not telling the whole truth.

Bambera gave the young man an intimidating glare. "Perhaps you should wait for the Doctor before making any decisions," she said coldly. Her frown relaxed into something similar to a smile. "I must say, this is a new experience. I've never met a male Companion before," she stated. To her amusement, the young man in the tweed suit coat looked gobsmacked. Bambera turned her head from side to side before asking, "Where's Ace by the way?"

The Doctor found his voice finally. "She's probably back at our temporary headquarters with her fiancé right about now," he replied.

This caused Bambera to blink rapidly in surprise. She had faced down Morgana with the teen pyromaniac and the Doctor just 6 months ago. The energetic young woman didn't seem like the person to settle down. "Fiancé? What does the Doctor think about that?" she wondered out loud.

The Doctor smirked before answering. "I'm thrilled actually," he replied. "I hope they tie the knot soon so that I'll be around to walk her down the aisle," he added.

Bambera's mouth opened in surprise as she finally caught on to who the young man really was. She, like all UNIT members, had been briefed on the Doctor's ability to regenerate. "Doctor? What happened?" she inquired. "It's only been 6 months since I last saw you," she added.

The Doctor grabbed Rory's wrist and looked closely at his wristwatch, paying careful attention to the date. "Oh… that's right, I forgot I was here already during that time," he stated. "I'm sorry, Brigadier, but it's been something like 200 years from my perspective," he explained.

Bambera looked over at Simmons and the Grangers. "You lot already knew, didn't you?" she asked, knowing the answer before she asked the question. The three officers looked anything but contrite. "Why do I put up with you three?" she asked rhetorically, shaking her head.

"Because we're charming and have a real talent when it comes to dealing with aliens," Simmons joked in reply.

Bambera glared at Simmons and softly muttered, "Your yearly evaluation is coming up, Lt. Simmons"

"And I'll be shutting up now," Simmons said hastily, causing everyone, including Bambera, to chuckle.

The Doctor stepped forward to stand in front of Bambera. "Now that we have who I am settled, I'll repeat what I said," he stated. "I have uses for the young idiot in my custody," he said, looking directly into her eyes.

Bambera looked back into the eyes of this much younger looking Doctor and saw the devious chessmaster she had known in his 7th life. She nodded, accepting his authority in the matter. "As you wish, Doctor," she told him formally. "But as soon as you're done with the terrorist, I _will_ have my pound of flesh for him attacking two of my troops," she promised, steel in her voice.

The Doctor nodded once in acknowledgement. He clapped his hands, startling everyone. "Right, well I'll leave the cleanup to you, Brigadier," he announced. "The Grangers and I will be heading off," he told her.

"It's pretty much what UNIT was set for up for - cleaning up after a certain alien," Bambera teased. She turned to place a gentle hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Before you go, would you mind demonstrating how a magical person 'apparates'?" she requested. She had been briefed on the existence of the magical world, but apart from what she saw Morgana do, she had never witnessed magic in person.

Hermione smiled at the older woman and then stood on her toes to kiss her boyfriend on the cheek, causing him to smile. "I'll see you back at Sirius' place," she told him before turning slightly in place and disappearing in a brief flash of light.

Bambera's eyes shot over to the elder grangers. She wasn't sure what was more shocking: a human able to spontaneously teleport themselves or the open display of affection between Hermione and the Doctor. Rory noticed the shocked expression on his boss' face. "I guess we might have forgotten to mention that our daughter is dating the Doctor," he said sheepishly.

Before Bambera or Lt. Simmons could respond, the Doctor took Amy and Rory by the elbows and shepherded them towards the TARDIS. He snapped his fingers and the front doors opened right before he shoved Amy and Rory inside. "Until next time, Brigadier," he called out over his shoulder as he rushed inside before shutting the doors behind him.

Once inside, the Doctor pointed over towards the twins. "Amy... Rory, have you met the Weasley twins?" he inquired.

"Only in passing at platform 9 ¾," Rory replied.

The twins walked over and shook the Grangers' hands. "Hello, I'm Fred..." George said.

"And I'm George," Fred said, completing their customary introduction.

The Doctor looked up from the control console and made a switching motion with his hands. The twins sighed and switched places. "It's creepy how he can do that," Fred muttered. "I'm actually Fred," he sighed and reached out to shake their hands again.

Jack came sauntering back into the control room and beamed his famous smile at the twins. "Just so you two know, I plan on eventually being able to tell you two apart," he told them.

Taking the bait, George asked, "And how do you propose to do that, Jack?"

Jack smirked for just a moment before saying, "Close, personal inspections of course." He walked further into the room and then froze, looking straight at Rory. "Roronicus?!" he asked in disbelief.

"Jack?!" Rory replied.

The Doctor glanced over and blanched at the surprised stares Rory and Jack were giving each other. "Oh Vortex, please no," he prayed, covering his face with his hands. He wasn't sure he could deal with the sorid image that popped into his head.

Rory looked up at the Doctor and then his face grew red. "NO... no... it wasn't like that," he stated, knowing of Jack's usual behaviors. "We became friends when he stopped by the Museum in 1908 in the other Universe," he said quickly. "Friends... that's it," he insisted. "After we took care of a dinosaur that popped into the art wing, we went out for a pint and swapped stories about you," he told the Doctor.

Jack strode forward and grabbed Rory's hand in a Roman style greeting. "Things were pretty boring in that Universe, so I dropped by every five years or so to have a drink with the one guy who remembered the regular Universe," Jack added.

"How is it that you can remember the other Universe?" Rory inquired, perplexed. He thought the only ones who could remember where him, Amy, River, and the Doctor.

Jack's smile faded slightly. "Fixed point in time and space," was all he would say. "Since we are asking personal questions, are you still an auton?" he asked Rory.

Rory hesitated for a split second before answering. "Nope, human as they come," he replied, telling a half-truth.

Tired of being left out the conversation, Amy stuck out her hand. "Amy Granger," she said introducing herself.

Jack took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Captain Jack Harkness," he purred.

"Jaaaaack!" Rory and the Doctor said in unison.

Jack smirked again and then whipped his head around to look at the Doctor. "Grangers? As in Hermione's parents?" he blurted out.

"Yes, Hermione is our daughter," Amy told Jack.

Jack blinked a few times. "Leave it to the Doctor that when he finally decides to start dating again, he choses the Last Centurion's daughter," he muttered. "Way to go, Doc," he praised his old friend.

Fred raised his hand as if in class, not wanting to be rude. "Um... Jack, what did you end up doing with Malfoy?" he asked.

Jack jerked his thumb back over his shoulder towards the hallway he had just left. "Since the Doctor doesn't have any jail cells on the TARDIS, I stashed Malfoy in a broom closet," he stated. "Considering the hateful looks he was getting from you guys and the Doctor when I led him away, the tough part will be getting him out again," he added.

George looked at Fred who nodded slightly, letting his brother take that obvious straight line. "Trust us, Jack. If there's anyone who can convince Draco Malfoy to come out of the closet, it's you," he said with a straight face.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

**12 Grimauld Place**

Hermione popped into the Black Mansion inside the large drawing room on the main floor that had been designated as the apparation point. When she regained her senses after the magical teleportation, she saw an unusual sight. Sirius and Remus were laying on the floor in opposite corners of the room. Sirius was sporting a black eye and Remus had a bloody nose. Ace was tending to Sirius' injuries while Tonks was tending to Remus. A flash of gold caught Hermione's eye and she saw Slytherin's locket untouched in a blackened and burnt circle on the floor.

Harry and Ginny walked into the drawing room carrying bags of ice from the kitchen. Ginny rolled her eyes as she passed Hermione and gave hers to Remus. Hermione grabbed Harry's arm as he walked past on his way to Sirius. "What's going on here?" she demanded.

Harry nodded towards the burnt area on the floor. "We learned the hard way not to touch the locket with our bare hands or try to destroy it with blasting spells," he replied. "How are your parents?" he asked, changing the subject but obviously concerned for her sake.

Hermione's fists clenched in anger as she thought about the Death Eaters led by Draco Malfoy who had attacked her home.  
>"They're safe. Draco led a small group of Death Eaters to destroy my home, capture and torture my parents, and generally be the stupid gits they always are," she told him. "Mother and Dad took out Draco's team and the Doctor arrived right before they could finish off the Ferret-that-bounces," she complained. After a moment, Hermione forced down her anger. "Good news is that my parents will be staying here for the foreseeable future," she stated happily. She always missed her parents while she was away at school.<p>

Ron walked into the room munching on a sandwich. He said something through his mouthful of food that no one was able to understand. Hermione glared at him and exclaimed, "Honestly Ronald!" She held up her hand to indicate he should stop and ordered, "Chew... swallow... and _then_ try that again."

Ron chewed for a few moments and then swallowed the large mouthful. "What I said was Dad is going to drive your parents barmy with all of his Muggle questions," he repeated.

Hermione looked around the room and noticed who wasn't present. "Speaking of which, where are your parents, Vastra, and Jenny?" she inquired.

At that question, Ron put down his sandwich, suddenly no longer hungry and his face took on a slight greenish tint. "Vastra set up a room in the basement with a bunch of fake rocks and heat lamps she brought back from the Silurian base we dropped the Carrows off at," he said. "She mentioned it had been a long time since she had a full relaxation room set up and invited my parents to join her and Jenny in stretching out on the warm rocks," he explained.

"That doesn't sound too bad," Hermione stated.

Ron closed his eyes and forced away the mental image that was tormenting him. "Vastra mentioned something about the room being 'clothing optional'," he managed to say.

"The Doctor told me a bit about Jenny's history, so you should consider it a compliment to your father that she and Vastra feel comfortable enough with him to be naked in the same room," Hermione informed him.

Ron looked immensely relieved when the sounds of the TARDIS' return filtered up through the floorboards. "Sounds like your boyfriend and your parents are home," he yelled out, grateful for the change in topic.

The room was quiet for a few minutes while the group waited for the others to come up the stairs from the basement / dungeon. Fred, George, and Prof. McGonagall were the first ones up. When Harry, Ginny, and Hermione saw her, the younger Gryffindors rushed her and folded the usually stern teacher in a tight, three way hug. Once they realized what they had done, they stepped back from the Head of their House. "Sorry, Professor," Hermione mumbled.

McGonagall reached out her hand and stroked first Hermione's and then Ginny's hair. With her other hand, she ruffled up Harry's eternally messy hair even more. "I love you too, my brave Lions," she whispered. This earned her a second hug which she gladly returned. When they stepped back a second time, McGonagall saw Sirius sitting on the floor next to Ace. True to form, she merely raised an eyebrow as she said, "Sirius, I'm glad you seem to have recovered from a bad case of death." This caused everyone in the room to chuckle.

The Grangers were the next ones up the stairs and into the drawing room. Hermione stepped away from McGonagall and led her parents further into the drawing room, taking care to avoid the locket on the floor. "Everyone, these are my Mother and Father, Amy and Rory Granger. Mother... Dad, I would like to introduce you to some of my friends," she stated. "The man over there with the bloody nose is Prof. Remus Lupin and the woman holding his head is Auror Nym... uh... Auror Tonks-Lupin. We just call her Tonks," she said, remembering at the last moment how much Tonks hated her first name.

Remus chuckled through his pain. "For pity sake, Hermione, I haven't been a Professor for a long time. It's just Remus now, remember," he teased. He glanced up at Tonks and smiled. "Careful, Hermione, my lovely wife might have been forced to drop my head onto this hard floor and hex you had you said 'Nymphadora," he laughed. To prove his point, Tonks slid her legs out from under Remus's head, letting his head hit the floor with a loud thud.

Tonks stood up and walked over to the Grangers. She extended her hand in greeting. "Pleasure to meet you two," she said and shook both of their hands.

Amy smiled warmly at Tonks. "Likewise, Hermione has told us a lot about you," she said. "This may be a bit premature, but whenever you might feel like a break, Rory and I would absolutely love to babysit for you," she offered. The procedures done to Amy at Demon's Run had left her unable to have anymore children. She knew her special Roman loved children and they would both jump at the chance to sit for Hermione's friends.

Tonks smiled back at Amy and took her hand and placed it on her belly. "Thank you, Amy. That means a lot to me," she said. Tonks smirked as she added, "However, you might have to set up a schedule with Vastra and Jenny. Vastra said something about the child being under the protection of the Silurian warrior caste even if it has the poor taste to be born a male."

Tonks stepped back as Hermione continued with the introductions. Hermione pointed at Harry and said. "You already know Harry."

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harry called out as he waved with his free hand. He was holding the ice pack to Sirius' cheek while Ace kept him propped up.

"Hello, Harry. Nice to see you again," Rory replied with a wave of his own. Ginny stepped up and walked over to the Grangers. "And I remember you, you're Ginny the youngest Weasley," he stated, offering his hand to shake.

Ginny shook his hand and had a playful grin when she replied, "Not really. My name _is_ Ginny Weasley, but I'm actually older than the twins and Percy." She paused and then added, "I was adopted by the Weasley's."

Amy frowned as she looked at the young woman. "Why do you look to be about Hermione's age then?" she asked.

Ginny's face broke out in a broad smile that was eerily familiar to Amy. "I'm a Time Lady. The Doctor is my biological father," she replied. Ginny let out a snort of laughter as both Amy and Rory's heads snapped around to look at Hermione as they drew the wrong conclusion. "No... _River_ isn't my mother, but I would be very proud and happy to have her as a stepmother," she said, testing to see how much they already knew.

Rory let out a breath out in a loud whoosh of relief. Amy swatted him on the shoulder. "Ouch!" he exclaimed and rubbed the sore spot. "What... you're obviously way too young and pretty to be a grandmother yet," he said.

Amy nodded her head in agreement and stage whispered to Rory, "Nice recovery. Somebody's getting lucky tonight."

"Mother!" Hermione screamed as her face turned bright red.

Sirius used Ace's help to stand up and he bowed to the Grangers. "I'm Sirius Black and you two are very welcome in my home," he said formally. "If you would like, I can cast some heavy silencing charms on your bedroom so your _innocent _daughter is not disturbed if she walks past while you two are engaged in ...umph," he stated with the last bit being cut off by a well aimed throw pillow to the mouth from Hermione.

Rory squinted his eyes as he looked at Sirius. "Hermione said you were dead," he pointed out.

Sirius gently put the throw pillow down next to him. "I got better," he replied as if it was an everyday occurrence. He wasn't expecting the look on Rory's face that seemed to imply that to him, it was a fairly common experience.

Ace was about to introduce herself, but Rory stepped up to her and held out his hand. "You're Ace, aren't you?" he asked rhetorically. "We've seen your pictures in the TARDIS," he explained, gesturing back towards his wife. Rory pulled out his wallet, took a card out, and handed it to Ace. "I'm trying to start up a support group for other prior Companions. Sarah Jane and Jo Grant have already said they would like to join. We've got tee-shirts and everything," he said excitedly, giving his little spiel while Amy rolled her eyes.

Ace stuck the card in her pocket. "Thanks, Rory. I'd like that," she stated.

The stairs to the basement creaked again as the Doctor and Jack finally made their way to join the rest of them. The two old friends were chatting happily back and forth. "I really was surprised at how little coercion it took to get the Malfoy boy to come out of that closet," the Doctor remarked.

Jack smiled over at the twins who were trying very hard not to laugh. "It's just my natural charm," he stated with a wink.

The Doctor stopped suddenly as he saw the locket on the floor. "What's that doing there?" he asked.

Ginny decided it was her turn to explain. "Remus and Sirius were examining it because everyone but me could still feel a really strong dark essence in it," she replied. "Remus made the mistake of touching it with his bare hand and started spouting a bunch of nonsense about how as a werewolf he wasn't fit to be a father," she stated. "Sirius recognized something was wrong and grabbed the locket away from Remus," she said.

Sirius rubbed the back of his head and shuddered. "When I touched it, it felt like I was being buggered by a dementor, the self loathing thoughts were so great," he said. "Before anyone asks, no I haven't actually been buggered by a dementor. They don't have the proper plumbing for the task. I think it is one of the reasons why they're so miserable and cranky," he added.

The Doctor gestured towards Remus' nose and Sirius' shiner. "How did you two get hurt?" he inquired.

Remus and Sirius looked anywhere but at the Doctor or Hermione. Ace swatted her lover playfully on the back of his head. "Snuffles over here thought he would just get rid of the damn thing by tossing a blasting hex at it," she said. "Tonks and I heard the explosion and found our not so bright men laying on the floor," she stated.

Hermione took in a deep breath and slowly let it out while she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I told you guys that the books I came across in the Black library said a horcrux can only be destroyed by basilisk venom or something with the destructive potential equal to or greater than that of fiendfyre," she lectured.

Sirius looked at the young witch sheepishly. "As I was laying on the floor deciding if I was dead or not, that bit of information might have popped into my head," he admitted.

The Doctor looked down at the locket, frowning. "This doesn't make any sense. I neutralized it back in the Ministry of Magic building," he muttered. He stared at it for a moment longer before his eyes became very wide and he slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh... how stupid can I be?" he asked rhetorically. "No one answer that, please!" he shouted out, still looking at the locket. "I forgot that Voldemort is a binary creature. I was able to render the Time Lord half safe, but the Tom Riddle half is still active," he postulated.

The Doctor stepped over to an end table and grabbed a quill and some parchment. Handing them to Hermione he asked, "Can you do an equation that relates how much energy is released during a fiendfyre spell in a form those of us without a magical education could understand?"

"Of course, Doctor," Hermione replied. "Arithmancy is one of my favorite subjects after all," she added. The room was quiet except for the scratching of the quill on the parchment as she solved the necessary equations. When she was done, she was frowning at the surprising result. "If my numbers are correct, and I'm sure they are, fiendfyre spells release the controlled equivalent of a one megaton nuclear explosion over the duration of the spell," she informed them.

"Oh... is that all?" the Doctor asked cheerfully.

Jack shook his head. "Doc, I'm pretty sure just about every country on this planet will notice if you set off a nuke somewhere," he pointed out.

"Hum... what?" the Doctor replied, deep in thought. "Oh yes, of course they would notice that. I was thinking more along the lines of a matter / antimatter reaction," he stated.

Even though Ace had once been quite the pyromaniac, she looked horrified at the thought. "Professor, containment vessels capable of containing a reaction that big won't be built for another 50 to 60 years. If you use an equal amount of antimatter as there is matter in the locket, you'll vaporize most of Great Britain without a containment vessel," she said shakily.

The Doctor just smiled at Ace. "Lucky for us, I happen to have one inside the TARDIS," he said smugly.

It was Hermione's turn again to frown in thought. "Doctor, I thought the TARDIS was powered by a combination of Atron energy and Huon particles," she stated.

"It is," the Doctor replied.

"Then what does the matter / antimatter reactions power?" Hermione inquired.

The Doctor turned to face his girlfriend, confusion evident on his face. "It doesn't power anything," he said as if that should have been obvious.

Jack smirked as he asked, "So what... you built a matter / antimatter containment vessel just for shits and giggles?" he asked.

Prof. McGonagall looked over the top of her spectacles and glared at Jack. "Language, Captain Harkness!" she chided him. Jack tried to look contrite, but the wink he gave McGonagall totally ruined it.

The Doctor ran his hand through the back of his shaggy hair for a moment before speaking. "Perhaps it would be best if I just show you what I built," he said. The Doctor pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and gingerly picked up the locket. He wrapped the cloth around the locket and stashed it safely in the outside pocket of his jacket.

********DrW********

**TARDIS**

The doorway leading into the room the Doctor wanted to show everybody was crowded as they all wanted to get a look at what the odd, ancient alien had designed. Silence ruled for quite awhile as they all tried to come to grips with what they saw. Fred and George were the first to speak. "George, I know you are the smarter of the two of us, so could you just confirm what I think I'm seeing," Fred requested.

"Dear brother, we all know you are truly the brains behind our brilliant and devious partnership, but I'm pretty sure I see the same thing as you do," George replied.

Jack cocked his head to the side and said, "Huh... you really did build it for shits and..."

Jack was cut off by Harry waving his hand for him to stop. "Jack, please don't finish that sentence," he pleaded. "I really don't want to think about why there would any giggling going on in that room," he stated. This caused Sirius and Remus to chuckle which earned them both a smack on the back of their heads from their women.

Hermione put her hand on the Doctor's arm in an almost patronizing way. "All right... I'll be the one the ask," she said. "Doctor, why did you build a matter / antimatter reaction chamber to look like a toilet?" she asked.

The Doctor looked down at Hermione, slightly offended. "I did not build a matter / antimatter reaction chamber in the shape of a toilet. That would be silly," he protested. Pointing to the toilet he said, "That is a real toilet. The mixing chamber is below it."

Amy watched as Rory stepped away from the room shakily. "Rory, are you alright?"she asked softly, putting her hand on Rory's forehead.

Rory paled a bit as he pointed to the bathroom. "I've used that loo loads of time," he muttered. His choice of words set the other men off snickering. "The thought that I was sitting on top of what is pretty much a huge bomb while I did my business scares the... well... crap out of me," he stated to even more snickers.

The Doctor looked over at Rory and shrugged. "I had the TARDIS provide this loo any time you ate Mexican food. It was the only way to ensure Amy's and my survival," he said with a straight face.

Hermione decided to ask the next obvious question. "Are all the toilets on the TARDIS set up like this?" she inquired.

The Doctor smiled at her, happy to indulge her quest for any sort of knowledge. "Oh no... this is the only one," he replied. "After I was forced to jettison a part of the TARDIS during my fourth life, the plumbing in this section was cut off from the main lines," he explained. "I finally got around to fixing this area during my ninth life. I'm absolutely pants when it comes to plumbing so it was much easier to just build a matter / antimatter reaction chamber than repipe the area," he said.

Jack laughed as he slapped the Doctor on the back. "Doc, you're the only person I know who could say that and not be carted off to the nut house," he teased.

The Doctor glared at Jack and then stepped into the bathroom, motioning Harry to come with him. Showing that he truly was the son of a marauder, Harry joked, "You know, I always thought it would be Jack who would try to get me alone in a bathroom with him."

The Doctor tried to glare at Harry, but the ends of his mouth quirked up slightly. "For your information, I was thinking that you would like the honor of flushing this bit of Tom Riddle's soul down the loo," he stated. "However, I'm sure I could find someone else who would like to," he added.

Harry was beaming a huge grin as he held out his hand to take the locket. The Doctor nodded to him, dropped the cloth wrapped locket into Harry's hand, and stepped back to join the others. Harry held his hand over the toilet bowl, savoring the moment. "I can't think of a more appropriate end than this, Tom," he stated as he dropped the locket. Still grinning, he pressed the lever on the side and watched as a valve in the bottom of the bowl slid open to drop the refuse into the chamber below. Harry frowned when the locket managed to get itself wedged in the opening. Without thinking about it, Harry grabbed a tool next to the toilet and started trying to dislodge the locket.

Ace chuckled at what Harry was using. "Professor, only you would have a plunger shaped like a Dalek manipulator arm," she laughed.

Jack looked closer at the tool Harry was using. "You know, I never noticed that before, but the arms really _do_ look like a plunger," he stated.

The Doctor shook his head, a smile plastered on his face. "Dalek arms don't look like plungers; plungers look like Dalek arms," he stated. "If you reverse the polarity in the attraction field on the cup at the end, the arms work wonders on clogs," he informed them. "I was having dinner with Sir Thomas Crapper in 1858 and his brother-in-law managed to block up their loo. I dashed into the TARDIS and brought out a salvaged arm and took care of the problem. Sir Thomas was very intrigued and patented a lookalike the next week," he told the group.

"Ah... there it goes," Harry announced as he put the Dalek arm back down. He stepped away from the toilet, not knowing what to expect. Everyone heard a muffled boom as the antimatter impacted the locket and a thin bit of black, magical smoke rose out of the toilet.

The Doctor clapped his hands once. "Well, that's done," he stated. "Who's up for tea?" he asked, looking around the group cheerfully.

********DrW********

**Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire**

The Dark Lord Voldemort stalked down the hallway of his adopted headquarters. He was no closer to killing the boy or capturing the Doctor than he had been weeks ago. Voldemort was walking past the loo on that floor when he was suddenly possessed with an irrational hatred of the water closet. Without a second thought, he cast a silent _**bombarda**_ spell and shattered the toilet before going on his way.

A few minutes later, Lucius Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew walked down the same hallway, trying to be as quiet as possible so as to not draw the attention of their Lord and Master. They both stopped at the ruined water closet and peaked in. "Looks like Bellatrix has been eating curry again," Wormtail moaned. Both men cast precautionary bubblehead charms on themselves before hurrying past the loo.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**12 Grimauld Place**

Hermione walked out of the Black family library shaking her head in disgust. She had spent all morning and most of the afternoon scouring it for any spells that would help them in their war with Voldemort and his ilk. The problem was either the spells she found were too easily countered or so dark she found herself wanting to wash her hands just touching the pages they were printed on. Deciding she finally needed a break, Hermione made her way to the large sitting room on the main floor.

Inside the sitting room, Hermione noticed that the far corner now sported a rather familiar blue call box. The twins were sitting on a couch next to the TARDIS. Amy and Rory were seated at a small card table with Arthur and Molly. It looked like her father was trying to introduce the Weasleys to the game of Bridge. Ron was laying on his stomach on the floor in front a wizard's chess set. Luna was seated on Ron's rear end, completely engrossed in a book. The Doctor was seated cross legged across from Ron. The Doctor reached forward slowly and moved his black king out from behind his rook.

Ron shook his head in amusement. "Knight to rook 7," he ordered. As the white knight galloped into position, Ron announced, "Check, Doctor." Ron chuckled and then added, "You do remember that the purpose of this game is to protect your king, right? Throughout the game, you keep exposing your king to danger."

Luna glanced over her book to look at the chessboard. "Checkmate in three moves," she said in a dreamy voice.

Ron craned his neck to look at Luna in surprise. He didn't think she had been paying attention. Of course she might just be spouting random things like she usually did (something that really annoyed him.) Ron looked back at the board and shrugged. It would actually take four moves for him to checkmate his opponent. The Doctor moved his king towards an even more exposed position. "Seriously Doctor, you just put your king in even more danger. I'll let you take that move back if you want," he offered.

The Doctor shook his head firmly. "That's very generous, Ron, but I won't learn if you give me breaks," he replied with a straight face except for a slight glimmer in his eyes.

"Suit yourself," Ron said not noticing the look in his opponent's eyes. "Bishop to knight 6," he commanded, boxing in the Doctor's exposed king so Ron's rook could take it the next move. The bishop walked over to the correct spot and flexed his hands, eager to smash the opposing king.

It was the Doctor's turn to shake his head in amusement. "Now," he muttered softly. Ron's eyes widen in shock as the Doctor's queen ran across the board pulling her little, obsidian claymore out of the scabbard on her back. Right before she reached Ron's other bishop, the queen lept into the air, spun around in a complete circle, and brought her sword down across the bishop from shoulder to hip. The top part of the bishop slid off of the rest of him to land at feet of the white king. The black queen held up her sword and pressed it at the king's throat.

"Yep, three moves," Luna said without looking up from her book.

The Doctor stood up, leaving a very shocked Ronald Weasley staring at the board. Turning to look at Hermione, the Doctor smiled and said, "The game might be about protecting your king, but the inventors wisely made sure the queen was always the most powerful piece on the board." He stood up and walked over to Hermione. Mindful of her parents being in the room, he kissed her cheek instead of on the mouth. His hand slid naturally into hers and he led Hermione over to the table where Arthur was still having a hard time grasping the game. Arthur had his face scrunched up in concentration as he looked over the cards in his hand.

"Amy, Rory, I wondering if I could have a word with you two when the game is over," the Doctor told them.

Both Amy and Rory gave him a pained look. "That may be a bit, Doctor," Rory replied gesturing towards Arthur who had still not played a card.

Hermione walked behind Arthur and looked at the cards in his hand. She let out a soft chuckle as she reached over his shoulder to rearrange the cards in his hand. It only took Hermione moving two cards before Arthur started chuckling as well. He put all of his cards on the table and fanned them out so everyone could see. "If I'm finally getting this Muggle game, I believe that's bridge," he said triumphantly.

Amy tossed her cards onto the center of the table. "Well, it looks like we can talk now, Doctor," she laughed. Even though her home had been destroyed by Death Eaters, being reunited with both her best friend and her daughter had lightened Amy's mood.

"Excellent," the Doctor said eagerly as he clapped his hands once in excitement. "I know it's been a long time since we saw each other and I was wondering if my girlfriend's parents wanted to go out to dinner with us," he offered. The Doctor smirked a little as Rory managed to only flinch a little bit at the word "girlfriend". The Doctor laid he his free hand down on Amy's shoulder. "I know that being thrust fully into the magical world can be difficult on anyone, so I was thinking of eating at a strictly non-magical place that Jack suggested. He knows the owner and said he can get the entire restaurant reserved for us," he stated.

Amy reached up and squeezed her old friend's hand. "We would love to," she said, answering for Rory as well.

Hermione was surprised by the Doctor's dinner plans as much as her parents were. "Doctor, that sounds lovely and I would love to spend time with just you and my parents, but what if we encounter Death Eaters?" she inquired, forgetting for the moment that her parents were actually UNIT operatives and not dentists like they had told her her whole life.

The Doctor looked right at Rory when he said, "I'm sure your parents can take care of themselves. Your mum was responsible for rebooting the universe when it collapsed in on itself and your dad is the... man your mum fell in love with," he countered, leaving off the bit about Rory being the Last Centurion. "I would suggest we take the TARDIS, but she's gone into one of her every 114 year maintenance cycles. How about you create one of those wonderful objects that transports us like we are in a magical thrill ride to get us there and back? That way, if we need to leave in a hurry, we can just grab a hold and _woosh-wumpp-woosh_, we are back at the Black mansion," he suggested.

Hermione thought about what he said and nodded in agreement. She was so used to how Harry, Ron, and her flew by the seat of their pants during their adventures that having a contingency plan was very refreshing. Hermione was so relieved, she didn't think about how it was also the Doctor's usual M.O. to fly by the seat of his pants and not have an exit strategy. "I'll go and talk with Sirius. As long as he helps create the portkey, it will bypass the mansion's shields," she told them. "You wouldn't happen to have the address to the restaurant, would you?" Hermione asked the Doctor.

The Doctor fished around inside his larger on the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a slip of parchment. "I had Jack write it down for me," he replied as he handed over the parchment. Hermione turned to go, but suddenly turned back to face the Doctor. She put a hand on either side of his face and kissed him quickly on the mouth. She saw her father try to look anywhere but at her kissing the Doctor. When she broke off the kiss, Hermione returned the wink her mother gave her. Without another word, Hermione spun around to go find Sirius and something they could fashion a portkey out of. "Well, while Hermione is taking care of that, I'm going to pop down to the basement to have a bit of a chat with Jack and our new... guest," the Doctor stated

********River of Magic********

Draco Malfoy awoke tied to a chair in the middle of a large, dark room. The only light came from a magical glow ball suspended a few feet above him. The light was weak and cast a feeble glow around him, leaving the rest of the room in inky blackness. His nose ached and he felt like he had taken a bludger to the face, much like the time during his third year when the insufferable mudblood punched him. He squirmed against the ropes binding him, but they didn't budge. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally heard a door creak open and the sounds of footsteps walking towards him.

A handsome, dark haired man stepped into the light. He was dressed in Muggle clothing all the way from his plain white shirt and suspenders to his dark blue overcoat. In one hand he carried a wooden chair and in the other a thick, Muggle style book that bent as if it didn't have a hard cover. The man put the chair in front Draco and then spun it around so the back was facing the Slytherin. The man slipped off his coat, folded it neatly, and placed it across the back of the chair. With a smile that Draco found both strangely enticing and not a small bit unnerving, the man sat down backwards on the chair so that he was facing facing Draco. The man stared at Draco for a few uncomfortable minutes and then finally spoke.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy. I'm here to offer you a deal," Jack said.

Draco narrowed his eyes in contempt. "Why would I want to make a deal with a filthy Muggle like you," he spat. Draco's sense of foreboding exploded when instead of acting insulted, the man just laughed heartily.

"Sorry, where are my manners?" Jack asked rhetorically. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, head of the Black Cats," he said, introducing himself. Using the interrogation skills he had developed over several lifetimes, Jack noticed Draco's pupils widen and the pulse in his neck increase, both indications of real fear.

Draco suddenly found his mouth dry. Campfire stories about the Black Cats had always been popular when groups of Death Eaters got together to let off steam. Like all stories of that type, the stories became more horrific with each telling. To the Death Eaters, the Black Cats were the boogeymen hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike.

For a short while, Draco's fear of the Black Cats had diminished when he found out both the Doctor and Ace were members of that elite team. Neither of them seemed like they would be much of a challenge for a lone Death Eater, let alone a team of them. That changed after that pair had ruined both the attacks at Farringham and Stonehenge. The Dark Lord had even made it a point to warn his followers that neither Ace nor the Doctor were to be underestimated. To press his point home, Voldemort had told them that they should consider the Doctor as almost the Dark Lord's equal in both power and cunning. Facing the head of the Black Cats in a dark cellar drove home how much trouble Draco was really in.

"What kind of deal?" Draco croaked. Jack refused to answer and remained silent. When he couldn't take the silence anymore, Draco shakely repeated, "What kind of deal?"

Jack leaned back from the back of the chair and gave Draco one of his megawatt smiles. "You tell me whatever I want to know, and I won't turn you over to the Grangers," he said simply.

Not being able to control himself, Draco scoffed loudly, "Why should I be afraid of a pair of Muggles?" His inflated ego glossed over the fact that he had witnessed first hand that Mr. Granger at least was much more than a mere Muggle.

Jack shook his head sadly. "Hermione's parents are both dentists," he said as if that should explain everything. Draco's blank look was just what Jack had been hoping for. "Oh god, you don't know what a dentist is, do you?" he asked, baiting the hook.

Trying to put on a brave face, Draco replied, "Why should I care what Muggles do for a living?"

Jack laughed again as he got up from his chair. He walked around behind Draco and untied the ropes around Draco's hands, leaving his feet and legs still bound. Stepping into the darkness, Jack pulled a table with a metal tray on top into the light but just out of arm's reach of his captive. Draco recognized his wand on the top of the shiny metal tray, but couldn't identify the various sharp and rather cruel looking tools next to it.

Jack walked back around to face Draco and grabbed his coat. He pulled out a pair of omnioculars from the outside pocket and handed them to Draco. With another chuckle, Jack tossed the dentist equipment catalog onto Draco's lap. "I'll let you think about it before I get your answer," Jack said warmly. A cold chill went up Draco's spine as Jack kept chuckling as he left the room, shutting the door with a solid sounding thud.

Draco looked at the omnioculars first. From the glowing gem on the side, he saw that this one had been used to record something recently. Not having a better idea, Draco held the device to his eyes and watched the recording. He had no idea that what he was watching had been staged two hours earlier for his benefit. Draco watched through the eyepieces as both Doctor Grangers took turns "working" on a glamoured Fred. Every time one of the Grangers would put one of the vicious looking tools into his mouth, Fred would scream like he was under the Cruciatus Curse.

Letting the omnioculars drop to the ground, Draco opened up the catalog and started flipping through it. His hands started shaking when he read about pliers, scalers, and extractors. A second glow ball came to life illuminating a dentist chair that Hermione had transfigured from a couch in the Black library. The chair was the same one Fred had been sitting in when they had "filmed" the torture scene. The dental catalog slipped from Draco's nerveless fingers as his eyes rolled back into his head in pure terror.

A conversation just outside of the door to the cellar brought Draco's mind back into focus. "I'm sorry, Jack, but with how things have been going, my memory isn't what it used to be. I need you to write down again the address for that restaurant I'm taking Hermione and her parents to this evening," the Doctor stated sheepishly.

"No problem, Doctor. I've had decades like that so I know just how you feel," Harkness replied. Draco heard the _scritch-scritch_ sound of a quill on parchment. "Here you go," Harkness told the Doctor.

The door opened and again Draco heard only one set of footsteps enter the room. As the person got closer, the door shut loudly leaving Draco alone with whomever had come in. Draco tensed up when the Doctor stepped into the feeble circle of light surrounding his chair. The look in the Doctor's eyes made Draco more afraid than he had ever been before. The only time Draco had seen a look that cold and utterly devoid of compassion was on his Dark Lord's face. The Doctor's voice was even colder than his expression.

"You tried to kill two of my best friends," the Doctor said simply. He stepped over to the table that held the dental tools and picked up one of the small, curved hooks that ended in a wicked looking point. The Doctor refused to look at Draco as he turned the tool over in his hand. "I've seen an entire army turn at the sound of my name and you tried to kill two people I love," he stated, his voice like the winter wind over the frozen Black Lake. The Doctor turned suddenly to face Draco, but managed to catch the base of the table with his foot dragging the table closer and nearly causing the Doctor to fall over. "Whoops, there goes my cool, calculating interrogator routine. Hard to strike terror into a prisoner when you're clumsy. Oh well," the Doctor laughed, his cold, powerful persona evaporating.

The Doctor stepped in front of Draco so he could look him in the eyes. "I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with knowing that I'll be enjoying a nice dinner with my girlfriend and her parents while you're tied to a chair in a dank basement. I'd say have a pleasant evening, but we both know I was lying," the Doctor mocked before he walked past Draco into the darkness. Draco followed the sound of the Doctor's footsteps to the wall opposite the door. He was able to just barely hear the Doctor mutter, "Which brick was it that opened the secret passage? Oh yes, third from the top, fifth from the left." Draco heard a click and felt a breeze from behind him. The breeze cut off as the hidden door swung shut behind the Doctor.

After several minutes straining to hear anything, Draco looked over at the table that held not only the dental tools, but his precious wand. The Doctor's stumbling had accidently drug the table nearly a foot closer. By stretching as far as he could, Draco managed to grab his wand. A softly muttered cutting curse severed the ropes binding his legs. As he stood, Draco saw a bit of white parchment on the ground next to the table. He picked up the slip of paper and a grin spread across his face as he read the address for where his lord's enemy was having dinner. He shoved the parchment into his robe's inside pocket and hurried to the far wall. Draco whispered, "_**Lumos**_," and scanned the wall in front of him. He reached up and touched the brick the Doctor had mentioned. A soft click sounded again and a three foot portion of the wall pivoted towards him. Draco took in a deep breath of the cool night air that flowed down the tunnel. The door shut behind Draco as he fled into the tunnel. He never saw Captain Harkness step out of the shadows in the room he had just escaped from. He also never heard Jack whisper, "I was beginning to wonder if that ponce was ever going to manage to escape."

********River of Magic********

**South Bank of the Thames Warehouse District**

Rory rushed over to a trash can and threw up as soon as the portkey deposited him in a side alley near the restaurant Jack had suggested. Amy rubbed his back to let him know she felt bad for him. When he was done heaving, Rory turned his head to look at his wife. "That trip was 10 times worse than the Doctor's worse driving. Why aren't you sick?" he inquired.

Amy looked over at the Doctor who was smiling from ear to ear as he helped Hermione up. She looked back at Rory and replied, "Once you've been vomited up by a space whale, everything else seems tame."

The Doctor finally realized Rory had not enjoyed the trip and walked over to him. He dug around in his pocket until he found a roll of mints. "Here, these might help," he offered.

Rory looked at the mints suspiciously. He had learned from his past mistakes. "What planet are those from?" he asked.

The Doctor held the mints up to his face so he could read the label. "They're from Mars, but it was during the second wave of human colonization so they should taste fine to you," the Doctor replied.

Rory took one of the offered mints and popped it into his mouth. His face first took on a shocked expression and then a happy one as the tiny, mint flavored robots embedded in the mint went about cleaning his mouth before they dissolved. The Doctor saw Rory's smile and pressed the rest of the mints into his friend's hands. "Here, you can have the rest. Just don't ever drop these in a bucket of vinegar. Trust me, bad things happen if you do. One small slip made it necessary for a third wave of Martian colonization," he rambled. Rory looked at the mints in his hand and decided not have a vinaigrette dressing with his salad.

The Doctor took Hermione's hand and led her and her parents around the corner to the restaurant. Like Jack had promised, the dining room was empty except for one table with a service for four set up. The Doctor pulled out Hermione's seat for her while Rory did the same for Amy. After a few moments, a friendly looking woman wearing a green apron came out from behind the kitchen. She took their orders and then hustled back into the kitchen to prepare their meals.

Hermione noticed that throughout the dinner, the Doctor was quieter than usual. This gave plenty of time for Amy and Rory to catch him up on what they had been up to since the Doctor and Hermione had dropped off the infant version of herself. Hermione would have been more worried about the Doctor's mood if she hadn't been so enthralled with the real story of what her parents had done while she had been growing up.

Amy on the other hand had been watching the Doctor's reactions and had began to get uncomfortable. She stood up and beckoned the Doctor to follow her. "If you two can excuse us for a minute, I want to ask the Doctor something and I don't want to embarrass him in front of his girlfriend," she told Hermione and Rory. The Doctor dutifully got up and followed her to the other side of the dining room. "All right mister, what is going on?!" she demanded.

The Doctor sighed as he realised that out of all his Companions, Amy had been able to read him the best. "Have you ever done something and then later wondered if you had made a huge mistake?" he asked her. The Doctor watched Amy's eyes flick over to Hermione and then back to him. "No... no... not my relationship with Hermione. That's one of the few things in my long life that I'm very sure about. I haven't felt this close to someone since my first wife died," he reassured Amy.

Amy was about to ask what other decision had him questioning himself when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look out the window and saw several oily, black clouds streak down the street and then solidify to form several people with white masks and long, black robes. "We've got company!" she yelled back to the table. Amy took the Doctor by the hand and pulled him back to where Hermione and Rory were just starting to get out of their seats. "Hermione, we need that portkey now!" she told her daughter.

Hermione just nodded and pulled out a large, brass ring from her purse. She held out the ring and waited for the others to grab ahold before she incanted the activation phrase. Rory and Amy stood next to Hermione and grabbed the ring, leaving the spot directly across from Hermione for the Doctor. As soon as the Doctor grabbed the ring, Hermione called out the phrase that would send them back to the Black mansion, "**Rapid Retreat**!" Right as she started to say the second word, the Doctor let go of the ring and stepped back from the table. As the sharp pull from behind her navel took hold, Hermione heard the Doctor whisper a sad, "I'm sorry." The world spun around her and Hermione soon found herself back in the first floor sitting room of the Black mansion.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**South Bank of the Thames Warehouse District**

Hermione Granger took in a deep breath to keep her emotions in check. It had been two days since the Death Eaters had attacked the restaurant. Two days since the Doctor had turned himself over to the enemy without warning. She had tried to apparate back to the restaurant after the Doctor had let go of the portkey, but Jack had stopped her by stunning her with his sonic pistol. When she had woken up (and after she had killed him twice) Jack explained to Hermione that the dinner, letting Malfoy escape, and the Doctor's capture was all part of the Doctor's plan. Jack refused to tell her anything else about the plan, no matter how strongly and violently she tried to get her point across. He only told her that the Doctor was counting on her to save him when the time was right.

Ace saw Hermione leaning against the dirty brick wall of the alley where the Death Eaters had apparated in at. She placed her hand on Hermione's shoulder to comfort her. "Are you alright, 'Mione?" she inquired softly.

Hermione dragged herself out of her memories and looked over at Ace, a single tear at the corner of her eye. "I keep running things over in my head, and I can't figure out why the Doctor did what he did. Why surrender himself to the Death Eaters and why make my parents and I watch him do it?" she spit out angrily.

Ace thought back to her time spent traveling in the TARDIS. "Just when you get comfortable with the Doctor and forget he's not human, he goes and pulls some stunt that no human would ever consider," she said, letting Hermione know she had felt the same thing on many occasions. "When I travelled with him, he was a master manipulator. He may look like a young man in his mid-twenties now, but he's really an alien with an extra two centuries of experience manipulating things from when I last saw him," she pointed out. "You either accept the fact that he will never be human and love him anyway, or you leave him and try to move on with your life," Ace said bluntly.

Hermione turned to look into Ace's eyes. She saw hurt and regret lingering there. "Is that what you did?" Hermione asked for clarification.

Ace couldn't take the look Hermione was giving her and looked down at the ground in shame. "I know he loved me as a daughter and I loved him like the father I never had. In the end I left because I believed he only saw me as another chess piece to be used in his battle against the darkness," she admitted. Ace looked up again and Hermione saw the older woman was crying. "It was only after I spoke with Jenny and learned about the Time War that I realize the Doctor, my wonderful Professor, had manipulated me to the very end. He must have seen where things were headed with his people and the Daleks. He wanted me to be safe and manipulated me into leaving him so I wouldn't feel like another father had abandoned me," she sobbed.

Ace took in a cleansing breath and it was her turn to stare forcefully into Hermione's eyes. "I've never seen him look at anyone or love someone like he does you. Don't let him trick you into leaving as well. He needs us… he needs you most of all," she said firmly. "I don't know what the Professor has cooking, but you can bet that whatever it is, he's doing his best to protect us," she reminded her friend. Hermione let go of her anger which opened the release valve on her other emotions letting her truly cry for the first time in two days. Her emotional release was just winding down when Tonks apparated into the alleyway.

"Hermione… Ace, you have to get back to the mansion. That strange metal dog of yours has been asking for you. He says it has to do with finding the Doctor," Tonks told them. Hermione grabbed Ace's hand and side-along apparated them both back to the Black mansion. Tonks nodded her head when she saw the other women leave. She closed her eyes, concentrated on the Black ancestral home, and apparated back herself.

********River of Magic********

**12 Grimauld Place**

Hermione ran from the designated apparation point just inside the front door to the main floor sitting room. She found the others standing in a circle around K-9. The robotic dog lifted its head when Hermione entered the room. "Mistress!" he said almost happily. "48 hours has passed since the Doctor entered a time delayed message into my memory banks. The time limit has expired and I may play the recording for you," he told Hermione. "Shall I play the message, Mistress?" K-9 inquired.

"Yes, K-9, please do," Hermione said quickly.

A blue light shot out of the beam emitter at the end of K-9's snout. A small, blue hologram of the Doctor appeared. The Doctor was bent over as if he had just pressed a button on K-9. The hologram Doctor stood up straight and pleaded, "Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!" The hologram blurred and stretched up until it was the same height as the real Doctor. The blue shading was gone and the old alien was now represented in full color. He was staring at a blank piece of wall in front of him. "Sorry, about that, but I just couldn't resist," the Doctor chuckled. Hermione silently cursed herself for suggesting they watch those movies in the TARDIS' giant rec room in the first place.

"Hermione, if you're seeing this, then I've gone and done something that on the surface looks terribly daft," the hologram said.

"You could say that again," George snorted.

The hologram paused for a moment and then spoke again. "Thank you for that vote of confidence, Fred. At least I hope it's Fred. You see, I've got a 50-50 chance on this one and I'm only guessing. Once you lot have rescued me, I'll be interested in finding out if I picked the right twin," he rambled. "Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked. Where was I?" he asked rhetorically. "Oh yes, why I did what I did. As you have probably already guessed Hermione, the fact that the Valeyard is a potential future me makes me a sort of Horcrux for him," he explained. Hermione winced as the concept she had tried hard not to think about was thrust into the light. "I have a plan that will enable us to use this to our advantage. I had to use you and your parents to make sure the Brickyard didn't suspect I had orchestrated this. I'm sure Mr. Malfoy came up with a very heroic story about how he escaped, so I'm not worried about the other side catching on from him," he said. "Jack and K-9 have the key to finding me, Hermione. That leaves only one thing for you," he said. The hologram turned to face directly at Hermione. "Be brilliant, my love, just like you always are!" he told her with a wink. The hologram faded from sight leaving the room in silence.

Hermione spun around and pointed her wand at Jack threateningly. "Start talking or I hex your bits off!" she demanded.

Jack stepped forward and put his hand on the end of her wand, pointing it towards the floor. "I love it when a sexy woman starts getting all dominant with me," he said getting a slight chuckle out of Hermione. With the tension eased, she holstered her wand and waited for Jack to explain. "The Doctor shared with me his plan from the beginning. I passed along a ring to him that my friend John Hart gave to me. This ring gives off a very unique pulse of tachyons making it easy to locate with the right equipment," he told her.

"That's just great, but where are we going to find a 4 dimensional tachyon tracer in this century?" Ace moaned.

Jack pointed down at K-9. "Beginning sweep for the presence of counter balanced tachyon pulse," the robot dog stated in response, it's ear like scanner arrays swiveling from side to side. After a moment, K-9's ears stopped moving. "Pulses identified with general locations," he announced.

"Locations? As in more than one?" Hermione asked.

"Affirmative, Mistress," K-9 replied.

Jack smacked his forehead with his palm. "Sorry, I completely forgot about that," he muttered. "K-9, ignore the pulse coming from Cardiff. Focus on the other signal and pinpoint its location," he ordered. He saw Hermione was looking at him and he shrugged sheepishly. "I forgot there was already a previous version of the ring at Torchwood 3," he admitted.

Ron scratched his head and uttered, "Huh?!"

"Same ring at different points in its personal timestream," Rory explained. "Just do what I did and try not to think about it too much," he suggested from experience.

"Location triangulated to within plus or minus 1 meter," K-9 suddenly announced.

"Where is he?" Amy and Hermione asked in unison.

"The Doctor is…" K-9 tried to reply. "The Doctor is…" he tried again. "Forgive me, Mistress, but something is interfering with my ability to tell you where the Doctor is," he told Hermione.

"Is this something else the Doctor setup? If it is, Voldemort won't have to worry about killing him, because I'm going to do it myself!" Amy snarled, angry at getting so close to finding out where her best friend was only to be stymied.

K-9 rolled in a small circle so he was facing Amy. "Negative. An outside force is interfering with my ability to report on the Doctor, or more precisely where the tachyon ring, is," K-9 stated.

Sirius sank down into the couch against the far wall and rested his forehead on his hand. He tried to massage away the headache he was getting. "Any bets on whether or not old snake face has the Doctor holed up somewhere behind a fidelius charm?" he asked no one in particular.

"I'm sorry, but what's a fidelius charm?" Rory asked.

Harry had spent many hours researching the spell that led to the false sense of security his parents had before they were murdered. "It's a spell that keeps a location a secret. Unless you're told the secret of where it is by the secret keeper the caster chooses, you will never know where it is, even if you've been there a million times. Even if you know the secret, the spell keeps you from telling anyone else where it is," he explained.

"OK, but how does K-9 know where this place is?" Rory pressed. Harry shrugged his shoulders to let him know he didn't have an answer for that.

Hermione thought about this and then looked down at K-9. Everything clicked when she thought about how literal the magical community as a whole could be. "The spell was designed to keep people from learning where a location was. K-9 can locate the ring because he's not a person, he's just a robot. No offense, K-9," she stated.

"None taken, Mistress," K-9 replied.

Hermione smiled as the answer to their problem solidified in her mind. "K-9, I just want to make sure I'm clear on things. You know where the Doctor is but an outside force is keeping you from telling us exactly where," she paraphrased.

"Affirmative, Mistress," K-9 stated.

"Are you able to tell us where the Doctor isn't? For instance, is the Doctor in this room?" Hermione asked.

K-9 replied immediately with, "The Doctor is not here, Mistress."

Hermione nodded in satisfaction at K-9's answer. "Good. I want you to project a map of the British Isles in white with the locations where the Doctor isn't represented by blue dots," she commanded.

K-9 used his beam emitter to project a floating map of the British Isles. A single blue dot appeared over where they were. Soon, blue dot after blue dot popped up on the map leaving the map almost completely blue. Sirius stood up from the couch and looked questioningly at the map. "I'm sorry, Hermione, I don't see how this will help us," he told her.

In reply, Hermione said, "K-9, invert colors and have the base map flash 4 times a second." The map switched colors and a tiny area in Southwest England near Wiltshire flashed blue.

"Well I'll be a mangy mutt," Sirius swore. "My cousin Narcissa and her pieces of dragon dung husband and son have a manor in that area. Considering I can no longer remember exactly where that snake pit is, even though I've been there several times, means it's under a fidelius charm. My guess is they have the Doctor in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor," he said with a mischievous smile, his Marauder blood stirring.

Hermione smiled back at Sirius and then turned to look at Harry. "Now all we need is someone who knows the ins and outs of Malfoy Manor," she suggested.

The smiles were contagious and Harry soon sported one of his own. "Dobby, we need you!" he called out in a loud, full voice to the empty air.

********River of Magic********

**Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire**

Cold water being splashed in his face drug the Doctor back to painful consciousness. Voldemort had given his followers permission to torture the Doctor, but had left them with specific instructions as to not leave any permanent physical damage. That pretty much left only the cruciatus curse for the unimaginative Death Eaters. Every muscle in the Doctor's body ached from the marathon cruciatus session the Death Eaters had subjected him to. His lower lip was swollen and split from where he bit into it during one of the spells.

The Doctor looked up to see who had thrown water on him. He wasn't surprised to see Voldemort's boot licker, Wormtail holding the pewter goblet. "The Dark Lord wants you to be awake for the entire ceremony tonight," Wormtail said, almost apologetically. He had been on the receiving end of more than one of his lord's cruciatus curses and was impressed by how the Doctor had retained his dignity throughout all of the curses.

The mention of a ceremony made the Doctor look around the room. The center of the dungeon / wine cellar had been cleared out and in the center stood a cauldron large enough to stand in bubbled with a sickly green concoction. The Doctor watched as Wormtail absentmindedly rubbed his silver hand every time he glanced at the cauldron. Motion from the other side of the room made Wormtail flinch as his master's "pet" snake slithered into room.

Nagini made her way across the floor and stopped in front of the Doctor. She raised her triangular head a few feet off the ground as she studied the prisoner. Her forked tongue shot out several times to taste the air around the strange enigma chained to the walls. He smelled similar enough to her master to confuse her. She continued to stare at the Doctor, trying to make sense of things.

"Glad she's finally staring at someone else other than me for once, even if she isn't looking at you like your on the menu," Wormtail admitted.

The Doctor managed a small smirk. "Oh that's right, your animagus form is a rat, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically. "Rather fitting considering how you betrayed Harry's parents. Eating you would be too quick of a punishment for turning on your friends like that," he chided. To show she knew they were talking about her, Nagini turned her head and hissed at Wormtail before going back to staring at the Doctor. For his part, Wormtail scampered back several feet in case the giant snake finally decided to eat him.

"That's interesting," the Doctor mused softly. He had felt a slight disturbance at the edge of his consciousness when Nagini had tormented Wormtail. Closing his eyes, the Doctor reached out with his mental senses and felt an echo of sorts coming from the snake. "Go ahead and eat him," the Doctor suggested. Nagini gave no indication she had even heard him.

"Nice try, Doctor, but unless you speak Parseltongue, I doubt that horrid creature would do as you as say," Wormtail informed him.

The Doctor cocked his head to the side in thought as he dug into his long memory. Parsel was the name of the scientific community just outside of the Silurian capitol before the reptile race had gone into hibernation. The scientists from that village had been the ones responsible for the tinkering with mammalian DNA that lead to the rise of the humans. Feeling he had nothing to lose, the Doctor decided to try and speaking in the dialect the scientist caste spoke in. "_**I'm sssure he tastessss even better than you've imagined**_," the Doctor suggested. Nagini cocked her as she listened to the man who smelled like her master. His speaking seemed very old fashioned, but she was able to understand him. One more thing to add to why this prisoner could be her master in disguise. She turned her head towards Wormtail and flicked out her tongue, wondering if this strange version of her master was right. She had longed to taste the corpulent rat ever since she had first laid eyes on him.

Wormtail heard the Doctor speak Parseltongue and his blood froze. When Nagini turned her head towards him, the rat man lost control of his bodily functions and soiled his robes. The warm wetness sliding down his leg brought some level of rationality back to Wormtail. "Gah! Now I have to go find new robes!" he moaned. Wormtail glared at the Doctor defiantly and spat, "Just to give you something to think about, the ceremony tonight will be quite painful for you." Nagini hissed once more at the rat man and he scampered off to go find some less filthy robes.

The huge snake slithered closer to the Doctor causing the echoing feeling to grow stronger in his mind. Realizing what it probably meant, the Doctor hissed, "_**Come here you gorgeussss thing. Let me get a better look at you**_." Nagini complied and slithered even closer to the Doctor. When she was close enough, she flicked out her forked tongue to taste the skin on the back of the prisoner's hand. The instant her tongue touched the Doctor, Time appeared to stop in the dungeon.

Nagini was gone to be replaced by a flickering and somewhat out of focus version of the Doctor's sixth life. The man was average height with bushy, blond hair. He wore a jacket made of panels of several different colors. Where the panels had been bright and bold in real life, this version had panels that were grayed and subdued. The sixth Doctor looked around the room and then at the eleventh Doctor who was still chained to the wall. "How pathetic! How in the name of the Vortex did you let us slip so low as to be held prisoner in a dump like this?!" the sixth Doctor demanded. His face contorted in pain as his image flickered out and then back into view.

"If you don't mind me asking, but what's wrong with you? The other soul fragment I spoke to seemed much more solid," the eleventh Doctor asked politely.

The sixth Doctor winced again as he fought to stabilize his form. "So you know what I am? Good, that means I haven't become too much of an imbecile in my old age. To answer your question, the idiotic human half of my being split our soul into too many pieces. He meant to have six vessels and the seventh piece reside in our body," he replied. "As you should remember from our 5th dimensional manipulation classes, seven is a very important number. Unfortunately, my conscious mind hadn't caught on to the fact that we made an unintentional one in the boy the night we royally screwed the Dalek and got ourselves blasted into non-corporealness again. When he put me into this… this… thing… I became the eighth fragment, completely ruining the balance. I shouldn't exist, but I do and it's quite painful," he informed the real Doctor.

The eleventh Doctor sighed as his fear about Harry was confirmed. To destroy the Valeyard / Voldemort for good not only would Jenny have to lose her father, but her lover as well. "Knowing you like I do, I'm pretty sure that mentioning we have fallen in love again and have a daughter wouldn't be enough to convince you to let go of your hold on existence," he surmised. The shade of the sixth Doctor only scoffed. "But I wonder how you will react to knowing that the real you gave his life willingly to stop the Valeyard," he mused.

"What?! Why in the name of the Vortex would I do do something as foolish as that?" the sixth Doctor shouted. His anger caused him to flicker even more.

Taking a huge gamble, the eleventh Doctor replied, "Come here. Relive my memories, the real ones - not the ones created by the High Council - and see why I always look back at you with a mixture of sadness and pride at how brave you were." The sixth Doctor took a step forward and slowly reached out his hand to touch his other self on the forehead. The eleventh Doctor closed his eyes as he brought up his last memories of his sixth life to the front of his mind.

The eleventh Doctor open his eyes when he no longer felt the other one's touch. The sixth Doctor standing in front of him still flickered in and out, but the colors of his coat had regained their once brilliant hues. The shade smiled slightly through its pain. "Knowing I once died valiantly to stop the evil that I could become gives me the strength to do it again," he said serenely. As he faded from sight for good, the sixth Doctor said, "Give them hell for me."

"I will, I promise," the Doctor replied to the snake that was shaking its head as if to clear it. "_**You sssshould go lie down and ressst**_," he suggested. Nagini nodded her triangular head and slithered off to a corner to sleep off her headache.

The Doctor wasn't given that chance as the door to the stairs boomed open and Voldemort strode in. His followers flowed into the room behind him and formed a circle around the cauldron. Voldemort looked at the chained Doctor and bowed to him. "I'm so glad you decided to stay and partake in tonight's festivities on tonight of all nights. Had you not destroyed our home, our cousins in the House of Lungbarrow would be celebrating Other's Day tonight," he stated. Voldemort tapped the Doctor's forehead with his wand causing confetti and multi colored streamers to fly around the room. "Happy birthday, Doctor and happy re-birthday to me," he whispered to his younger self.

Voldemort spun around and addressed his followers. "Tonight you will witness my ascension to my rightful place, a true god among men," he decreed. "Because of how truly momentous this occasion is, I have asked my most faithful and true follower to perform the ceremony," he said.

"Thank… thank… thank you, my lord," Wormtail snivelled as he wrung his dirty hands. He started to walk forwards, but a strong yet feminine hand restrained him. He spun around and saw Bellatrix was wearing a brand new black gown for the evening.

"Not you, you piss covered fool," Bellatrix hissed. She shoved Wormtail behind her and walked with her head held high to stop in front of her master. Bellatrix bowed until her forehead touched the ground. "I am and forever will be yours, my lord," the entire room heard her say.

Voldemort gently touched Bellatrix's shoulder and said, "Rise my servant. The one who has never forsaken me or given up on my return." Bellatrix stood up, her eyes gleaming with pride. "Begin the ceremony," Voldemort commanded.

Bellatrix nodded her head and walked over to the cauldron. She held out her hand and one of the lesser Death Eaters gave her a battered, old recorder. The Doctor recognized it as the one he used to play during his second life. "Relic of the past, unknowingly given, you will renew their bond," she incanted and then dropped the musical instrument into the cauldron. The green mixture began to bubble with large, slow bubbles.

The Doctor looked over at Voldemort, his eyes full of questions. Voldemort pointed at the the jacket laying at the Doctor's feet. "You really should go through those extra-dimensional pockets more often," he responded.

Bellatrix waited for her lord to stop speaking before continuing the ceremony. "Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you shall restore your lord," she said evenly before jabbing her long, talon like fingernails into her right eye socket. Bellatrix gripped with her fingers and yanked her own eye out, the optic nerve still dangling from it. She dropped the eye into the cauldron, causing the mixture to start swirling around on its own.

Holding a bloody cloth against her face, Bellatrix walked over to where the Doctor was chained to the wall. The Death Eater next to the Doctor handed a wicked looking serrated knife to Bellatrix's free hand. The Death Eater flunkie then rolled back the Doctor's left sleeve, leaving his forearm bare. "Don't… you don't really want to do that," the Doctor plead. Bellatrix sneered at him and drew the knife along his entire forearm, coating the blade with his blood.

Bellatrix held the knife triumphantly over her head as she and her Dark Lord strode to the cauldron. Chanting in almost religious ecstasy, Bellatrix finished the incantation with, "Blood of the enemy, forcefully taken, you will allow the Dark Lord to regain his true birthright!" When she was done speaking, Bellatrix tossed the knife into the cauldron. As soon as the Doctor's blood touched the swirling, green mixture, the potion took on a golden hue. Wispy tendrils of Vortex energy flitted out of the cauldron.

Voldemort pulled back the sleeve on his right arm and dunked his thin, pale arm into the potion. The vortex tendrils coalesced and snaked their way up his arm to his chest. As they crawled higher on his body, they glowed with a stronger light. When the tendrils reached his chest, the glow was so bright that the Death Eaters had to turn away. The bright glow pulsed with first a two beat rhythm and then shifted into a staggered, four beat rhythm. The glow contracted slightly and then exploded outwards, washing over everyone in the dungeon. The Doctor cried out in pain as his future lives became locked with the Valeyard once again.

Once the flash was gone, Voldemort turned to look at Bellatrix. He drew his wand, pulled the bloody cloth away from her face, and touched his wand to the gory cavity in her face. "_**Challata kovarian**_," he incanted in low Gallifreyan. The spell stopped the bleeding and caused a dark, metallic eye patch to form over her eye socket

A second flash of magic lit up the dungeon drawing everyone's attention. Instead of coming from the cauldron, this time it came from an empty cell next to the Doctor. Brilliant flashes of light accompanying high pitched cracks flew out of the doorway into the main room. Several of the Death Eaters were struck and crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Voldemort looked at the doorway and saw the Mudblood and a man who looked completely wrong to his restored Time Lord senses fire sonic pistols into his Death Eaters. A house elf escorted by the boy raced over to the Doctor and cut him free.

Bellatrix "saw" through her new eye patch the magical signatures of the team trying to rescue the Doctor. She instinctively knew this was but one of the many extra gifts she had gained through her sacrifice. Bellatrix focused on the strongest magical signature and threw one of her concealed throwing knives at it. Her blade would have sunk into the chest of the house elf if the man with the blue coat hadn't dived in front of the little creature, sacrificing his life for its.

Jack fell into a heap at the Doctor's feet, a knife sticking out of his chest. A house elf the Doctor had never met before placed one hand on the Doctor's leg and one on Jack's shoulder. Harry grabbed one of the elf's shoulder while Hermione grabbed the other. When they were all touching the elf in some fashion, they disappeared with a flash of light.

********River of Magic********

**12 Grimauld Place**

After appearing in the main floor sitting room, Hermione grabbed the Doctor who slumped into her arms. She eased him into a seated position on the floor. As she sat him down, Hermione heard the Doctor whisper to himself, "Got him right where I want him."

Dobby looked around the room to make sure everyone was going to be alright. He plucked out the knife from the fixed point's chest and tossed it aside, knowing the oddity would be alright soon. When Dobby finally managed to look at the Doctor, he stopped and stared, his jaw hanging open. Dobby crept slowly forward, never taking his eyes off of the "young" man slumped in Hermione's arms. When he was close enough, Dobby reached out a long, bony finger and poked the Doctor in the chest. Dobby poked the Doctor a second time to make sure what he was seeing was real.

Everyone expected a similar reaction like Kreacher out of Dobby. They weren't expecting the strange house elf to shriek in joy and throw his arms around the Doctor. "Dobby knew it, he just knew it. Even if all of the other halfs from the elves were made to be gone from this universe, somehow Dobby's Theta would find a way to survive," he sobbed in joy. Dobby cocked his head to the side. "Dobby doesn't understand how Theta is still whole, but Dobby doesn't care. He has his Theta back," he said happily.

"How… how do you know that name? Only my two closest friends called me that. Drax and …" the Doctor said, letting the second name be unspoken out of respect for his best friend who became his greatest adversary.

Dobby stepped back and smiled at the Doctor. "Dobby knows he looks different from when they last saw each other and that Dobby hasn't seen Theta since they were eight years old, but Theta and Dobby used to play together in Dobby's uncle's orchards when they were boys," he reminded the Doctor, letting him know who he had been before being ripped from his non-magical half when he had been forced to look into the Untempered Schism.

The Doctor's mind and body had both been assaulted too much over the last two days. The last thought he had before slipping into unconsciousness was imagining Dobby wearing a black suit and a rubbish, black beard.

**THE END of River of Magic: Hermione's Song Book 2**

Coming soon - Requiem of Sacrifice: Hermione's Song Book 3


End file.
